Beer token, undated, from the Hecht Brasserie in Zug (2 specimens)

Two beer tokens from the Hecht [pike] brasserie/brewery in the historical centre of Zug. The front shows a right-facing pike in the centre, surrounded by the legend “HECHT BRASSERIE” and six-pointed stars at the bottom. The reverse shows a glass of beer with a frothy head on it, surrounded by a beaded ring. The legend reads “HUSER & WETTERWALD ZUG”, with a six-pointed star to either side of the word “ZUG”.

In 1871, beer brewer J. Renggli from the Entlebuch region and Fridolin Huser from Lucerne purchased the “Hecht” tavern at 2 Fischmarkt in the historical centre of Zug and set up a brewery on the premises. The basement was divided into two separate spaces and a passageway through to Seegässli lane was constructed. An extension was added on the lake-facing side to act as a storage area. In 1872, Viktor Wetterwald-Huser from Solothurn acquired half of the inn and the brewery and also took over the running of the tavern. In 1881, the entire property came into the ownership of Hieronymus Baumgartner-Huser (President of the Municipal Council of Cham from 1889 to 1910), who made alterations to the building in 1886. Traugott Spiess, owner of the Löwengarten brewery in Lucerne (later the “Bierbrauerei Spiess A.-G”, which then merged with the “Luzerner Brauhaus AG” to form the “Vereinigte Luzerner Brauereien AG” and later became the “Brauerei Eichhof”) bought the premises in 1893. While the Hecht brewery ceased trading a short time later, the Hecht restaurant still exists today.