Beer token (token)

Beer tokens on the counting board in a Cologne brewery.

Beer tokens were a tool for determining and accounting for beer consumption in restaurants . These are mostly round stamps made of metal (often brass or aluminum ). On one side they usually have the trademark or the name of a brewery or the name of the restaurant in which they are used.

use

Beer tokens are used in a pub to control the amount of beer served. For each glass, a beer token is placed on a board at a certain point, usually along a nailed-on wooden strip or similar guide that is supposed to prevent the brands from slipping. This shows at a glance how many glasses have already been served from a barrel of beer. Sometimes brands of different sizes are used, the larger ones either for larger glasses or a certain number, for example in Cologne for the traditional Kölsch wreath (a carrying device for up to 18 Cologne sticks ).

The brands displayed show at a glance how much beer needs to be left in the barrel and when it is time to get a new barrel. In the past, this was important because the beer was usually stored in the cellar to keep it cool, so that it took a certain amount of time to fetch and tap , i.e. it had to be done in good time so that there was no delay in serving. The brands also made it easier to keep records of consumption and thus billing with the brewery or between counter staff, waiters and restaurant owners.

With the introduction of dispensing systems , in which connecting a keg in the storage room outside the restaurant, only a few minutes, and cash registers and other electronic accounting systems, beer brands have largely gone out of use today. In some traditional restaurants they are still used today, for example in Cologne breweries, where beer tokens are occasionally used in the bar counter .

In some cases, beer tokens are also said to have been used as a kind of voucher, as examples are known that have inscriptions such as good for 1 liter of beer . Beer brands have also been preserved from the area of student associations , most of which bear the name of the association and its circle .

Fraternity beer brand

literature

Susi-K. Reimann: What are beer brands? In: Beer brand database. Retrieved on November 8, 2016 (published on the Historisches Unterfranken Internet portal of the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg ).

Web links

Beer brand database on the Internet portal Historisches Unterfranken of the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg