The Gingerman is one of the only bars that has been open in Rice Village as long as I can remember. The bars around it change names and decor, but the Gingerman has stayed the same. It's busy every night of the week. The front consists of a small porch, that leads into what once was a house. The rooms are small and semi-partitioned by walls with cut out windows. It's dark, with hardwood floors, wooden tables and chairs, and a bar in the middle of the "house."
The bar is long, but with patrons sitting on the barstools and crowded up to the bar, you have to shove your way to the front to get a drink. The wall behind the bar is covered in taps and bottles line the wall above it and around the room. It's been said that the Gingerman has "so many beers on tap and in bottles that if you went there once a week and sampled something new each time, it would take you more than three years to try every beer on the menu." With the crowded bar, your best bet is to grab a menu off a table or the bar and figure out what you want before braving the bar itself. Want suggestions? Don't ask the bartenders, they are very busy people and won't help you make a decision. Above the cash register are two chalkboards announcing their "beer of the day" and "recommended wines." However, as with many Rice Village bars, there is no hard liquor, just beer and wine.
My favorite "beer" in the world is available here: Lindemann's Kriek. Not so much a beer, since it's red and made from cherries, but it's really good. At $9 a bottle (it's a big bottle), it better be!
Once you get your drinks, forget trying to find a table inside; head out the back door to the back patio where there are plenty of large wooden picnic tables and you can get some fresh air.
The patrons of the Gingerman are primarily friendly college-aged Rice University students. It is a laid-back bar, where people where everything from suits to shorts and t-shirts.