The Ginger Man, Austin

Upcoming Events Draft (June 2013)

Andrew — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 04:04:45 +0000

Estrella Damm Brewery Night

Wednesday, June 3, 6pm

For the first time, we’re serving Estrella Damm on draft at The Ginger Man. Join us for a special brewery night with brewery representatives and enjoy this centuries-old, award-winning jewel of Barcelona in it’s beautiful stem glassware.

Ballast Point Brewery Night

Wednesday, June 12, 6pm

Come meet the Balllast Point brewery rep and learn what makes Ballast Point Sculpin IPA taste so great.

Squatters Beers Brewery Night

Wednesday, June 26, 6pm

Our friends at Squatters Beers like to say, “Life’s much too short to drink ordinary beer.” Come celebrate their independent, craft beer spirit with a Squatters IPA and a chance to win something cool.

Save the Date: Annual Belgian Beer Tasting

Saturday, July 20, 3pm

Celebrate Belgian Independence with us Saturday, July 20, with some of the best beers on earth. Tasting starts at 3pm with Belgian-style beers from around the world. Tickets are $40 per person (including gratuity) and seating is limited, so buy your tickets early. Call 512-473-8801.

Past Events

Spring Break Concert Series 2013

Oktoberfest Kickoff 2012

The Ginger Man Southlake

Andrew — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 18:05:45 +0000

Photos

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:44:54 +0000

Spring Break Concert Series

Camper Van B

Clem Blondie - Kathy GoGo's

Day Crowd

Night Crowd

Right Ons 1

An Austin re-original

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:26:16 +0000

The Ginger Man began serving fine specialty beers in Austin in 1994 from its original home on 4th Street. Due to the changing face of Austin’s downtown, we had to move to a new location just a fraction of a block away. The not-really-old but not-really-new pub has some new things, and a lot of the old pub in it. Come visit. We think we’ve kept the comfortable feel of the old pub, and, of course, the beer. Like all our pubs, there’s still an outside beer garden perfect for enjoying food weather with our great beer.

New beer

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 09:10:13 +0000

Rahr Summertime Wheat – There is nothing better than a cold Summertime Wheat at the end of a hot Texas day. This refreshing, lightly hopped ale has unique banana and clove-like characteristics. It is unfiltered so the yeast character comes through with a light but full body.
More info…

Harpoon Summer – This beer, which is light and refreshing, appears to resemble a lager rather than an ale. The Kölsch style is a testimony to the broad spectrum of characteristics an ale can produce, as well as the brewer’s art. The body is soft and delicate with a dry, crisp finish.
More info…

Saint Arnold Summer Pils – A true bohemian-style pilsner. Crisp and refreshing, this beer is perfect for a hot summer day. Saint Arnold Summer Pils has a delicate, sweet malt taste complemented by an abundant hop aroma and flavor. This beer is brewed with fine German malt, and a copious quantity of “noble” hops imported from the Czech Republic.
More info…

Other new beers:

Alaskan White
Samuel Adams Summer Ale
Firestone Walker Double Jack
Firestone Walker DBA
Squatters IPA
Estrella Damm
Spaten Optimator
Green Flash Rayon Vert

Good press

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 23:15:30 +0000

We’re a little shy about tooting our own horn, but luckily there are others who’ll do it for us. A number of publications have printed nice things about us. Here are excerpts from a few of them.

Local Awards and accolades

Austin Chronicle Best Beer Selection 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Austin Chronicle Best Beer On Tap 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Austin Chronicle Best Patio Beer Garden 2007

Best Of Citysearch Beer Selection 2005, 2006

91% Average user rating on ratebeer.com

“A” Average user rating on beeradvocate.com

National and International mention of The Ginger Man

“I am on record as saying that Mr Precious’ first Ginger Man, in Houston, Texas, is one of my favorite pubs in the United States. This is not only because it has a fine selection of beers (a feature hardly ever found in Ireland, where Guinness suffices) but also because it is a true pub, where it is possible to indulge in conversation without having dubious entertainments or food pressed upon one. Despite its name, it has no oppressive theme, either as a literary bar or as an Irish tavern.”

-Michael Jackson in “Failing to meet The Ginger Man”, originally in Ale Street News (reprinted here)

“…An American Haven of chaotic craziness…surelycthe most interesting of pubs in Houston, Texas…I have never found anywhere quite like it and I don’t think I will again.”

-Dublin’s Evening Press

“… one of the best beer bars in the world”

-Michael Jackson’s “Beer Companion”

Beer Styles

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 21:53:30 +0000

Historically, beer has been divided into 2 different classes, lagers and ales. Ales are top-fermented at higher temperatures for shorter periods of time and are more fruity and wine-like than lagers. Lagers are bottom-fermented at lower temperatures for longer periods of time, and then are Lagered (German for “to store”) before consumption. They generally have “crisper” flavor characteristics.

With that said, it’s no longer true. The proliferation of microbreweries and subsequent experimentation has greatly blurred those distinctions. Brewers now may use multiple brewing methods with exotic yeasts and hops with the result that many current beers can no longer be so easily pigeon-holed into either “lager” or “ale”. The tables below explain the “classic” types of beers, and it’s good to know, but don’t get too hung up on the definitions.

After the table below, I’ve added a few links where you can learn more about different styles of beer.

Lagers
Pilsner	Light in color and body with a pronounced Hop Flavor, named after the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic.
Oktoberfest/Vienna	Copper-colored, medium-bodied, with a sweet finish, originated in Vienna, but now found mostly in Southern Germany as Marzen beers, or as Oktoberfest beer.
Munchner	Indigenous to Munich, this beer is heavier and finishes sweeter than Pilsners or Export styles. Both Light and Dark styles exist.
Export	Light in color, these beers are drier than those found in more Southern regions of Germany.
Bock & Doppelbock	Style originating in the German town of Einbeck, these beers are of higher than normal alcohol content (in Germany, but not in the so-called Bocks of the U.S.) generally much sweeter and heavier than other lagers. Dopplebocks all end in -ator in honor of the original Salvator from the Paulaner brewery of Munich. They are extremely high in alcohol content.
Ales
Pale Ale	Generally copper colored, with varying degrees of hops, indigenous style of Great Britain. Range of alcoholic strength from bitters, at the low end designed for all night consumption, to best bitters, of medium strength designed for just-a-few, to special, for when you only want one or two.
Brown Ales	Light brown in color, slightly sweet, with much less hops than paler styles.
Old Ales	Rich, dark in color and of medium strength.
Barleywine	Very high alcohol content, thick and sweet, designed to be drunk in small quantities as an after dinner drink or to finish the night.
Porter & Stout	Very highly roasted grains give these beers their flavor and black color. Porters are of relatively lighter body than stouts. Stouts originated in Dublin with Guinness.
Abbey/Trappist	Dark, rich, Belgian ales of monastic origins.
Wheat Beer	Beer containing malted wheat (35-65%) in addition to the barley malt, giving it a slightly acidic and very effervescent nature. Hefe-Weizens are bottle conditioned and cloudy; Kristall-Weizens have the yeast filtered out and are not fermented in the bottle. Wheat beers are sometimes served with a slice of lemon to enhance their thirst-quenching ability.
Lambic	This is a style of Belgian ale that is often flavored with fruit.
Cask Conditioned	Second fermentation and maturation occur in the cask, creating natural carbonation.

On-line guide to Belgian beer

Beer Advocate – just lots of good information

Wikipedia section on “beer” -an ongoing collaboration

BeerPal – another good site for all sorts of information and reviews of beer

Beer Me – another good site for reviews and brewery information

Upcoming events

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 21:47:05 +0000

Estrella Damm Brewery Night

Wednesday, June 3, 6pm

Ballast Point Brewery Night

Wednesday, June 12, 6pm

Come meet the Balllast Point brewery rep and learn what makes Ballast Point Sculpin IPA taste so great.

Squatters Beers Brewery Night

Wednesday, June 26, 6pm

Save the Date: Annual Belgian Beer Tasting

Saturday, July 20, 3pm

Past Events

Spring Break Concert Series 2013

Oktoberfest Kickoff 2012

Weekly Specials

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 21:37:14 +0000

Monday thru Friday: From 3 to 6pm, $1 off most pints and talls.

Monday: Pint night starts at 6pm. Buy the beer, keep the glass (until we run out).

6/3 – Rahr Summertime Wheat
6/10 – Trumer Pils
6/17 – Samuel Adams Summer Ale
6/24 – Estrella Damm

Wednesday: Trivia night starts at 8pm. Show off your noggin knowledge with host Daviewayne and Bob “Baby Girl” Dorsey.

Thursdays: 6 to 6:30pm is Thirsty Thirty, most pints just $3 for 30 minutes.

Pub Family

Christy — Sat, 01 May 2010 20:55:59 +0000

I was a friend of The Ginger Man and Bob Precious when there was just the original pub in Houston’s Rice Village (you can read more about the history of The Ginger Man under the History tab above). We spent many nights after closing discussing whether it was wise to open a location in Dallas, and how it could be done without diluting the feel and spirit of either location. Many local patrons had commented on how comfortable they felt in the Houston pub, and the dynamite selection of beer and the knowledge of the staff added to that. We felt it was essential not to lose that feeling. The Dallas location came alive and was very popular. Buoyed by this success, Bob added a third location in Austin, which has also been very popular and successful. Since then, and under new Texan ownership, two more successful Texas pubs were created in Ft. Worth and Plano.

One night I was enjoying a meal of fish & chips at Fado down the street in Austin. While chatting with the person next to me at the bar, I asked him if he ever went to The Ginger Man. He responded “no, I never go to chains”. That bothered me (not solely because Fado has 13 locations across the country), and I’ve thought about it a lot. When I think of chains, I think of Benigan’s (now closed), IHOP, Denny’s, Chili’s and other such places. They’re all constructed in cookie-cutter fashion and it appears the total experience is engineered to be nearly identical in all of the different locations. I think “uniform mediocrity” is implied by the “chain” moniker. The Ginger Man certainly doesn’t fit into that definition of a chain.

It’s true we have a “home office” in Dallas that takes care of some of the paperwork and other busy work that would detract from the General Manager’s attention to beer and keeping the patrons happy (although there’s still plenty of paperwork left over for them to do). Beyond that, each pub has been given the freedom to develop its own personality. Houston isn’t so big on serving food, both because of the tiny kitchen area and several great restaurants within walking distance. The newer Dallas-area pubs have larger kitchens and serve more pub food. All of the pubs are dog-friendly, as much as local health regulations allow. Patrons at the Houston and Dallas pubs love the blended beers that the bartenders create, but they aren’t very popular in Austin. Some of the pubs have regular live music that is enjoyed, while patrons at others prefer to left alone to talk. Some ideas, such as the “buy-a-beer, keep the glass” nights are popular at all the pubs. Each of the pubs has their own charities they choose to support through special events. The Austin pub has “trunk shows” where local artists bring in their creations to sell; I don’t think that happens in any of the other pubs.

I personally know all the General Managers at all the pubs, and I’d challenge anyone to find a more independent group of people. I’d say “good luck” to anyone who tried to fit them into a cookie-cutter definition of their job, other than some general principles on providing good beer and good service. And I’d extend that challenge to say you’d never find a group of more dedicated and hard-working managers. Its a LOT of work to keep all those taps flowing with fresh beer.

So, please, think of us as a family of pubs, not a chain. We feel that is a far more accurate description of us.