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Which beers sold as foreign are brewed in Britain, and what to buy instead

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Work in progress. We are still reading cans and settling where listings disagree. Seen a beer whose small print contradicts its label? Tell us.

Where is Lucky Buddha brewed?

By Mark Porter Last checked 6 September 2026 How we check

Mixed supply Partly verified Last checked 6 September 2026

The UK supply of Lucky Buddha is split between imported stock and stock brewed in Britain. Check the small print on the pack.

Listed by Tesco when last checked. The product pages are among the sources below.

Every beer on the shelf by strength · How the units are worked out

Brewed for the UK in
Mixed: some imported, some brewed in Britain
Mixed supply
Sold as a beer from
China
Buddha-shaped green bottle, Chinese imagery, marketed as Chinese beer brewed at Qiandao Lake
Brewed in (country)
Mixed
Brand owner
Lucky Drink Co (label: 'Lucky Drink P/L')
UK strength
4.8%
2.7 units a pint
Strength at home (China)
Not established
UK bottles 4.8% (Tesco). Draught 4.8% (Drinks Business, LWC). No separate Chinese home-market ABV checked. No Chinese brewer or retailer page with a strength was found (checked 9 September 2026); a Chinese beer database gives 4.8%, which is not a qualifying source.
What the UK label says
“Brewed and bottled in China. Brewed and bottled by Lucky Drink P/L. LWC Drinks Ltd, Greenside Way, Greengate, Manchester, M24 1SW”
Source: www.tesco.com
More about the brand: rights, style, when it was created, where it is brewed at home
UK rights held by
LWC Drinks Ltd (exclusive UK distributor) (as importer and distributor)
Style
Lager (Asian-style pale lager)
Brand created
Not established
Brewed at home in
Qiandao Lake (Thousand Island Lake), Zhejiang, China

Partly verified

At least one of those three claims rests on a secondary source or an inference, a disagreement between sources is still open, or a split supply has a format that has not been read.

Bottle origin (China), UK ABV and UK distributor verified from Tesco label text and Drinks Business. The UK distributor's own page states the draught version is made in the UK, so the split is now sourced rather than inferred, but no UK brewer or site is named for the draught. Brand owner's home country and founding year not verified from a primary source. No separate Chinese domestic strength is established.

No listing for the 330ml bottle was found at Morrisons, Asda, Ocado, Waitrose or Sainsbury's on 2026-09-06; the Tesco listing stands.

The small print on the base of a current can or bottle, giving the producer name and address, would settle this.

In short

The UK supply of Lucky Buddha is split: some of what reaches the shelf is imported and some is brewed here. By format, the record says 330ml bottle: imported; 30L keg: brewed in Britain. The can in your hand could be either, so check the producer address in the small print. The UK version is 4.8%; the home-market strength is not established. The brand belongs to Lucky Drink Co (label: 'Lucky Drink P/L').

This page is about the packs sold in supermarkets. Draught in pubs can come from a different brewery, and this page does not cover it unless a format table says so.

It depends which one you pick up

The bottles, cans and draught version of this beer do not all come from the same place, or are not all the same strength. This is what the record says per format.

FormatSupply
330ml bottleImported
30L kegBrewed in Britain

Who has brewed it here

YearsBrewerSiteSource
2024 to nowUnnamed UK brewery (draught only, per Signature Brands); bottles imported from ChinaNot establishedsignature-brands.co.uk

What changed

Questions people ask

Where is Lucky Buddha brewed?

The UK supply is split between imported stock and stock brewed in Britain. The imported share comes from Qiandao Lake, Zhejiang in China.

Is Lucky Buddha brewed in the UK?

Partly. Some UK stock is brewed in Britain and some is imported, so it depends which pack you pick up.

Is Lucky Buddha really Chinese?

Only partly. Some UK stock is brewed in Britain and some is imported, so it depends which pack you pick up.

Who owns Lucky Buddha?

Lucky Buddha is owned by Lucky Drink Co (label: 'Lucky Drink P/L'). In the UK the brand is handled by LWC Drinks Ltd as importer and distributor.

What strength is Lucky Buddha in the UK?

Lucky Buddha is 4.8% ABV in the UK. A UK pint is 2.7 units.

What does the Lucky Buddha label say about where it is brewed?

The UK label text on record reads: "Brewed and bottled in China. Brewed and bottled by Lucky Drink P/L. LWC Drinks Ltd, Greenside Way, Greengate, Manchester, M24 1SW".

See also

Tsingtao Premium Lager
Imported from China · 4.7% · sold as Chinese
Genuine import Verified

Every beer sold as China

Sources

  1. Tesco (tesco.com), 5 September 2026: 330ml bottle 4.8%, 'Brewed and bottled in China', Lucky Drink P/L, distributor LWC Drinks Manchester
  2. The Drinks Business (thedrinksbusiness.com), 4 July 2024: Draught launch July 2024, 4.8% ABV, brewed at Qiandao Lake, distributed exclusively in the UK by LWC for Lucky Drinks
  3. Signature Brands (distributor) (signature-brands.co.uk), 5 September 2026: 'brewed and bottled on Qiandao Lake in China'; 'the draught version is made to the same refreshing recipe in the UK'; 4.8%
  4. British Guild of Beer Writers (beerguild.co.uk), 22 April 2026: Tesco listing of 330ml bottles at 4.8%, brewed and bottled in China, LWC exclusive UK distributor

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