Earlier this month, a report from The Irish Times warned that an exceptional rise in demand for the famous dark ale across the UK could lead to a shortage in supply.

“Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in GB,” a spokesperson for Diageo, the brand which owns Guinness, explained earlier this month.

“We have maximised supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible.”

Most of us will have likely seen this report and brushed it off as scaremongering, after all how can there be a shortage of something which is continuously being brewed?

Well it now seems like end times are truly upon us, as one pub in London has now introduced a Guinness ration card to handle the increase in demand over the festive period.

That’s right folks, rationing is back in the UK for the first time since 1954.

Explaining the decision to introduce the ration cards at her pub was Kate Davidson, owner of The Old Ivy House in Clerkenwell, who revealed the decision came after she was restricted in the number of Guinness barrels she could get from the local brewery.

“I normally make sure I have seven barrels per week and I would up that in the run-up to Christmas. But I was restricted to only four [by our brewery],” she explained in a statement (via Metro).

“So on Wednesday, when I got my order, we only had half a barrel left in the cellar at the busiest time of the year. And we’d run out by 10pm on Friday night.”

So how does the ration work?

For punters at The Old Ivy House, Davidson explained that you have to buy ‘two regular drinks’ before getting access to the Irish stout.

It’s believed the rise in demand for Guinness is due to the drink’s popularity with younger generations (John Keeble/Getty Images)

“You have to buy two regular drinks before you can buy your ration of Guinness,” she explained. “We’ve had one gentleman who turned around and left. Everyone has taken it with good humour.”

It’s believed that the rise in demand for Guinness is due to the drink’s increasing popularity amongst younger generations, thanks to viral trends such as ‘splitting the G’ with your first sip.

However pub goers will be relieved to learn that rations won’t be in place at every watering hole up and down the country, as a survey of UK pubs conducted by The Telegraph revealed that popular chains such as JD Wetherspoon and O’Neill’s aren’t concerned about a potential shortage.