John Kilbride Unusual things tend to appear in unexpected places. I’d never have put much thought into looking for beer in Home Bargains, usually a place I’ve more associated with budget cleaning products or household items, but just in time for the start of 2026’s inevitable January budget battering, our local branch was selling beer at 26p a can.
Yes, £GBP0.26. The kind of pocket money price that would apply if you’ve not had an increase in your pocket money since 1980, or if you’d stepped into 2026 without having set foot in the last three decades.
On an idle walk to the till with a basket of dog and cat snacks, I spotted rows of Thousand Cups on the shelf, a lime-flavoured low alcohol (1.2% ABV) beer in a 330ml can, the price label making a direct appeal to the small change in my pockets.
The seemingly exotic label is in Chinese and English, although the beer itself comes from London. The unusual name apparently coming from a Chinese saying: “When drinking with a true friend a thousand cups are not enough.”
The label also makes clear that it’s gluten free and vegan, and comes in at just 40 Kcals a can, ticking another couple of boxes for the demanding drinker.
Home Bargains seems to specialise in ranges that aren’t readily available elsewhere, whether unusual imports or unfamiliar brands. These include some things that are worth seeking out, whether from 7.5% ABV Nigerian-brewed Guinness Foreign Extra Stout to Czech Budweiser Bud Lime at the alcohol-free end of the spectrum.
So, sitting in such company I thought Thousand Cups merited a punt. Sad to report, though, that it didn’t reveal itself to be much of a hidden gem. Not a strong enough flavour of the lime, which can be a welcome sharp edge to a brew, and instead a dominant flavour of a rather bland beer.
Alcohol-free and alcohol light beer has been one area that’s improved and expanded hugely over the last decade, but this sadly reminded me of some of the disappointing low-alcohol beers of decades ago, the kind of inoffensive brew that drives you to choose a regular soft drink when you finish it because at least it’s got some kind of taste.
But the context of a beer can be important. A pint of Mythos outside a Greek taverna in July is a very different experience to drinking one in January in Lanarkshire. Perhaps if the gods of low-budget booze had been kinder it would have been a more satisfying experience to drink it on a hot summer day after mowing the lawn, or perhaps just on a hot summer day without even bothering to mow the lawn.
But if you’re cutting back on alcohol or just making what’s left of your December pay packet last until the end of January, Thousand Cups might be what you’re looking for. After all, getting a six pack of beer for under two pounds has to be some kind of achievement.
