The 40 Foot Potato Stout
The "Forty Foot", the swimming spot located in Sandycove in Dublin may have gotten its name from a few obscure sources, but most likely was named for the road it was on, now the Marine Road but in the 19th century known as the Forty Foot Road. What is for certain is the history of the Forty Foot. First as a men’s only swimming place where it was joined by woman bathers in the early 1970’s, also as a location described by James Joyce in Ulysses. Now the Forty Foot is open to everyone to enjoy, it is a popular location for brave swimmers to venture out into on Christmas morning.
A Similar style to an oatmeal stout, we’ve made this beer with potato starch to help dry out the sweetness and give the beer an overall balance between the dark roasted malt and the sweet hops. Drinking like a very famous export stout it won’t have a nitrogenated creamy head but will knock your socks off with its smooth taste.
Located in Sandycove, the Forty Foot is a famous swimming spot for the people of Dublin. The iconic name is something of a mystery when it comes to a concrete answer, but a couple of reasons are speculated. Another reason given by fishermen is that the water was 40 ft deep, however this is an inaccuracy as the area’s water doesn’t go any deeper than 20 ft.
Initially used as a mens-only bathing place with a swimming club established under the name of the Sandycove Bathers Association, the area would become a sort of popular safe-haven for male nudists to congregate. After protests in the 70s, the space then became a mixed swimming space. In 2014, the Sandycove Bathers Association removed its ban of women members and now everyone is welcome to join the club.
Today, it’s a popular place to prove your toughness on a cold Christmas morning by going for a swim. The Forty Foot also has a strong literary legacy to itself: having been referenced in both James Joyce’s Ulysses and Flann O’Brien’s At Swim-Two-Birds.
