IT is as quintessentially part of these islands as fish and chips, complaining about the weather or cups of tea.

But after a century as the beer drinker's vessel and measurement of choice, the traditional pint is facing competition as new pub habits take hold and Scots revellers seek to avoid being stung by the new drink-drive limits.

From the 'hipster fringes', the schooner has become increasingly popular in trendier hostelries, a two-thirds pint glass lending itself well to the growth in craft and imported beers.

But the decision last year by the Scottish Government to reduce the drink-drive limit to Europe's lowest, with a pint pushing some over the line, has propelled the schooner into the mainstream, with some traditional pubs now serving regular lagers and 'heavies' in the 379ml vessels.

One wholesaler of glassware to Glasgow's hospitality sector said in the past year orders for schooners had gone from zero to sales of over 1,000-per-month, with at least one bar selling beer only in the new-look container.

Others in the licensed trade have hailed the schooner as the saviour of the traditional 5pm 'pint after work' and the 'one for the road' of shift workers nipping in for a beer before driving home.

Tommy Matheson runs Clean Zone, a company which supplies glasses to many pubs, clubs and restaurants across the Central Belt.

He said: "The whole schooner thing has been very, very good on the back of the Scottish Government's new drink drive limit especially. People can have that one drink and drive knowing they'll be under the limit.

"It gives the publicans and customers a choice because there's something in the culture where men in particular just won't ask for a half pint.

"I've gone from selling none last year to 1,000-a-month, so nearly 12,000 overall. They're quite expensive and that's an issue but the driving thing has really killed the 5pm market. More publicans will catch on as they realise how the schooner has exploded onto the scene and had an impact on the after-work crowd."

Tabac in Glasgow city centre has only served beer in schooners since it opened last December. Licensee Fergus McVicar said his clientele preferred the smaller measure and that aesthetics and changing tastes were as crucial as the law.

He said: "We've found with some of the craft beers, like Joker IPA or the West Beer products, that the schooner keeps the beer fizzy and cold rather than a flat, warm final third. The younger clientele have really latched onto the idea.

"It's not about the driving ban but whilst some of our other venues have been hit by it worse than the smoking ban, Tabac still gets the 5pm crowd."

The Herald: It has only been since 2011 that beer and cider has been permitted to be sold in schooner measures but in Australia the term is as interchangeable with going for a beer as a pint is in the UK.

While its volume even differs in various Australian states and is a large beer glass in Australia, in the UK traditionally the schooner was a large sherry glass with a naval tradition and popular around Bristol.

It is the first real challenge to the traditional pint which has been the preferred vessel since the 1920s when it nudged the Victorian-era pewter tankard.

The Herald: David McFarlane is manager at the Thornwood Bar, a traditional hostelry in Glasgow's west end where customers have also taken to the schooner.

He said: "It's traditional stuff life Fosters or Belhaven Best our guys drink. We maybe only sell 10 per night but that's 10 customers who weren't coming in because a pint put them over but have returned to the pub."

But Dave Ross, licensee of the Admiral Bar, sounded one note of caution.

He said: "The whole hipster thing and the rise in popularity of bottled beer ran parallel with the driving thing, so the schooner has been a good addition to the market.

"But it has allowed some premises to charge a fiver for just over half a pint of mainstream beer like Peroni."