Damsel Brew Pub: new name, bar and sandwiches... and the secret behind those fries

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — It was a tad surreal when, this fall, Maidens Brewery owner John Mills announced he was changing the pub’s name because the iconic British heavy metal band Iron Maiden requested he do so.

“Iron Maiden asked us to change the name, there was no lawsuit or anything like that,” he said. 

The irony of the Maidens situation was that Mills decided to give his beers women’s names, in part, to avoid scrapping over beer monikers.

“There are a lot of cease and desist orders going out with beer names,” Mills said. “There are 10,000 craft breweries out there, and each one has many beers.”

So, now the name is Damsel Brew Pub, which fits nicely with Mills’ ladylike beer lineup, including Sophia, Melissa, Violet and Ashley.

To go with the new name, Mills has reworked his menu adding more sandwiches and appetizers and, by early February if all goes well, a full bar with wine and spirits.

“The menu evolved a lot through the first year and a half to see what was most popular,” Mills said. “Most people were coming in for appetizers and sandwiches… after all, we are a brewery. The menu we have now reflects that.”

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Any sandwich may be ordered as a wrap, and a black bean patty may be substituted for the meat on any burger.

The West-Side chicken sandwich has been updated and is now coated in Grippo’s-style barbecue seasoning and blackened in a skillet, then served topped with swiss cheese and pulled pork barbecue.

Sous Chef Jordan Meyer introduced the Peanut Butter Burger, inspired by his favorite burger from The Three Wise Men in the Broadripple area of, Indianapolis, where he used to work. The burger is topped with bacon, peanut butter and jalapeno chiles.

The Hawaiian Ham and Cheese sandwich is a fun, brand-new addition, with ham, grilled pineapple, swiss cheese and barbecue sauce on grilled sourdough bread.

Chicken breasts for the grilled and fried chicken options are buttermilk marinated, and fish is still hand-dipped to order in the house beer batter for the fish and chips.

Mills’ “Meat Twinkies” are a great favorite.

“I was walking through the Fall Festival, looking for something that was missing from the fest that we could fry,” he said. “I figured we could wrap some cheese in meat before we fry it.”

The result is Mozzarella sticks wrapped in Italian sausage, breaded and fried, and served with marinara for dipping.

Of course, Damsel pub classics such as the Scotch eggs, burgers and those phenomenal fries are still around.

Let’s talk fries. These are special fries — made with Kennebec potatoes, a variety you don’t see in the grocery store, because they are normally used to make potato chips. They are a low-moisture, low-sugar, high-starch variety with thin skin, so they crisp up fantastically without absorbing oil or becoming too brown or soggy.

They are twice-fried in the European manner, although it’s a technique Mills developed at home.

“I was feeding two teenage boys,” he said. “I converted a turkey fryer to a French fry fryer, and we’d have fry night. I could drop a lot of fries in at once, and it would reduce the temperature of the oil, and they’d cook but not get crisp. So I’d take them out once they were cooked, let the oil get hot again, and finish a few at a time. They were so crispy that way."

Mills serves them as a side and also loaded up with toppings: buffalo chicken and pepper jack cheese; chili and beer cheese; or a combination of beer cheese, pulled pork, bacon and chopped fried chicken tenders.

Loaded fries can be ordered as half or full-sized, and they can be an app or entrée. Full size is enough for a table to share or makes a large entrée.

If you go

Damsel Brew Pub is located at 209 N. Wabash Ave.

Phone: 812-909-1956

Hours:

Monday – Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Friday – Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.