Edinburgh Science Festival: 6 to see at Gastrofest

How Beer Made Science History
6 & 13 Apr, 8pm, £10

The Barney's Beer microbrewery is the host of an exploration of beer's role in science, and vice-versa. Learn how brewing advances in the 18th and 19th century were spurred on by new scientific advances, find out a bit about the science that goes into a pint, and sneak in some tasty craft beers while you're at it. Multitasking.

Disrupting the food chain
7 Apr, 8pm, £8.50

The big animals eat the little animals, and then bigger animals eat those animals, and then we swoop in with a knife and fork to complete the cycle; that's the food chain in a nutshell, but recent tech innovations have offered the chance to disrupt this natural order of events. You may have two questions: a) how, and b) why? Charlotte Maberly, lecturer in Gastronomy at Queen Margaret University, leads a discussion on the topic, looking at what we've done to the chain and what effect that could have on our future dining habits.

The Burger Evolution
7 Apr, 8pm, £20

Oh the burger, with your handheld loveliness and propensity to get meat juice all over our faces and arms at the slightest provocation. We like burgers, and this Science Festival event offers a chance to look at the past, present and future of the dish. Sensory expert Professor Charles Spence and Ben Reade of the Edinburgh Food Studio will be on hand as you try out a host of exciting and intriguing sandwiches, with the helpful excuse of this all being in aid of scientific discovery.

Watch and Wolf: Gattaca
7 Apr, 8pm, £25

The latest Watch and Wolf event from experimental party planners Jelly & Gin, pairing uniquely crafted nibbles with key points in the on-screen action. How that works in the context of Gattaca – a eugenics-laden sci-fi thriller about space travel – is anyone's guess, but it should be an intriguing sight to behold and eat along with. 

The Ethical Carnivore, My Year of Killing to Eat
9 Apr, 8pm, £8.50

For those of us who enjoy a slab of animal or two, there's an interesting ethical dilemma to consider – we're happy to feast on the flesh of dead animals, but how would we feel if it was us holding the knife? To answer that question author Louise Gray spent 12 months only eating animals she had personally killed, from seafood right up to small mammals. She shares her story of a year of ethical meat-eating, while looking at the issues around the meat industry's handling of animals as well. 

Cheeseology 2.0
11 Apr, 8pm, £15

We quite like cheese round these parts, and we also like a made-up word or two, so we're convinced of the merits of Cheeseology 2.0 thanks to the title alone. It takes the form of a "tutored tasting journey" through a host of cheeses from right across the board, with the innovations and scientific grounding behind each of the cheeses explored over the course of the evening. Presented by "self-confessed curd nerd" and Cheese Chap blogger Patrick McGuigan alongside dairy technologist – the best kind of technologist, if you ask us – Paul Thomas, we're sure it'll be a cracker.

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All events at Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Pl; sciencefestival.co.uk