Worcester publicans agree – stout, the rather old fashioned-sounding drink, is enjoying its moment in the limelight.

The Government has added cans of stout, such as Guinness, to the basket of goods and services it uses to calculate inflation rates.

The basket is updated regularly to reflect a snapshot of the nation’s spending habits so stout’s presence this year shows its growing popularity among drinkers.

However, some may not even be aware that they are part of this trend as the licensees of pubs in Worcester agreed that it’s really Guinness leading this charge.

Judy Allen, landlady at the Mug House in Claines, said: “I don’t stock anything that’s really dark except for Guinness. I’ve even taken mild off. But we sell three to four kegs of Guinness even in winter.”

Maz Madzarevic, the owner of Keystone’s cafe bar, in Copenhagen Street, Worcester, said: “I think it has always been popular.

“We sell quite a bit anyway. Guinness, Murphy’s and Beamish are the three popular ones.

“It has kept better than some, for example there are some lagers that have come and gone.

“Guinness just stays there and the company has found new ways of serving it.”

Other items like Apple’s iPad and bundled telephone, television and internet packages have gone into the basket, while developing and printing colour films have been taken out.

Also included is teenage fiction, such as the vampire romance Twilight, pineapples, hot oat cereals and takeaway chicken and chips.

Boiled sweets have been replaced by a more broadly-defined bag of sweets to reflect the increasing popularity of sweets such as Haribo.

But glass ovenware casserole dishes, step ladders and annual leisure centre membership were off the list.

The consumer prices index (CPI) and retail prices index (RPI) rates of inflation are calculated using 180,000 price quotations every month, covering 700 goods and services from 150 areas across the UK.