Pint Sized Blonde

The Wildman

30/08/16

The Wildman – Adnams Lighthouse

Ahhh, drinks after work, on a Monday, in sunny Norwich. This evening I find myself in between meeting friends, having a beer. Deadlines are looming but summer is fading so fuck it. Lighthouse is a fab session beer at 3.4%, ideal for stretching the evening out. It’s light and golden, even the label evokes sunny days by the seaside, and it’s relatively local being an Adnams brew. Apparently it’s hopped with ‘a mixture of Fuggles and Goldings hops’, which just makes me like it even more. As I people-watch, waiting for my friend, I ponder the history of The Wildman. What used to be a pleasantly dive-y kind of pub, filled with punks and a noisy jukebox and toilets down stairs so steep you wondered if it was worth attempting to pee at all after a few beers, had turned into a clean, well-decorated kind of trendy bar. I remembered being thrown out of the pub’s previous incarnation, after a mate asked the landlord “who died and made you king of fucking everything?!” Ah, good times. The pub is almost an alternative venue once more, with tattooed bar staff and gargoyles under the optics. With a broader range of real ales and some regular live music, it could thrive again. As this hopeful thought crosses my mind, a man walks up to the jukebox and says to his mate “Shakin’ Stevens was it?” There’s just no helping some people.