Scottish Food Events and Festivals: October 2019

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We start this month’s round-up with two words – 'oompah band.' That’s what WEST Brewery are promising/threatening with the return of their OktoberWEST party. A celebration of Bavarian beer culture, expect delicious and oversized steins, chewy pretzels and plentiful use of the tuba. 4 Oct, from 6.30pm, Templeton Building, Glasgow Green, £10-26, facebook.com/westonthegreen

Back-pedalling a day, there’s also an Oktoberfest vibe to the latest Versus event from the Innis and Gunn Beer Kitchen in Dundee. The format is fairly straightforward: try four German beers from the homeland, try four German-style beers from the UK, try four Oktoberfest-inspired bits of food, then decide which part of the smorgasbord was your favourite. Beer, food and passing judgement – three thumbs up from us. 3 Oct, 7pm, 10 South Tay St, £25, tickets via Eventbrite

Over in the east, it’s the return of Edinburgh Coffee Festival to the hip and happening surrounds of the Corn Exchange. Inside, there’ll be an extensive range of coffee and coffee-related paraphernalia to check out, and brews from some of the finest roasteries in Edinburgh and beyond. Outside, there is an Aldi, Asda *and* M&S Foodhall. 5 Oct, 10am-5.30pm, Corn Exchange, 10 New Market Rd, £8-10, edinburghcoffeefestival.co.uk

Next up is a festival with a pretty self-explanatory goal for a title – Women in Beer. The weekend of events, talks and tastings is brought to you by Beers Without Beards, a group that aims to increase the role and visibility of women in the beer world. There will be special collaborative beers to be had at venues across Edinburgh, and talks on everything from beer-making to beer-marketing. 10-13 Oct, various venues across Edinburgh, beerswobeards.com

Back in Dundee, Festival of the Future is back this month with a range of science-inspired events and chats. Most relevant for us is the Future Street Food event, which pairs life sciences researchers from Dundee University with local producers and foodies to look at the possible future of our collective grub. 17 Oct, 6pm, Discovery Centre, University of Dundee, £5, dundee.ac.uk/festival-future

Over in Glasgow, things come screaming back into the present day with a Vegan Afternoon Tea from Twisted Empire Bakes. The amount of cream in a standard afternoon tea puts the world of tiny sandwiches and teeny cakes off limits for vegans, so expect this to be a busy one. 20 Oct, 11am and 2pm, Ocho Cafe, 8 Spiers Wharf, £20, tickets via Eventbrite

The month comes to an end with an experience – a Craft Beer Experience, to be precise. The CBE once again takes over the Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh for a weekend of interesting and varied beers from producers from across the country. What sets this apart from the myriad other beer festivals? Possibly the Replicale contest, in which the attending breweries each try their hand at the same style, and gentle competition ensues. Regular readers of this column will be pleased to hear that, yes, you will receive a commemorative glass to take home with you. 31 Oct-2 Nov, various times, 2 Roxburgh Pl, Edinburgh, £11-15.40, craftbeerexperience.co.uk