I know that the sun has turned to drizzle and our sandals have switched to boots – but you seriously need to be excited about September.

Not only are all the comedy and music people returning from festivals to entertain us through autumn, but we’ve also got a fully-packed month of food events, beer festivals and general tasty hijinks – hurrah!

So put on your comfy socks and pour yourself a glass of your favourite tipple – here’s what you can look forward to in September…

Festivals ahoy!

It’s hard to know where to start on the food & drink festivals front, so let’s go chronologically.

The Victoria Park pub in Windmill Hill are hosting their annual Beer & Cider Festival from 4th-6th, featuring live music, BBQ food and of course oodles of beer and cider!

You should also definitely check out Factoberfest on 11-13th at Tobacco Factory; sample from over 60 beers (!!), eat some great grub and listen to live music – what could be finer ey?

Mid month is where it all kicks off though, with the return of Grape and Grain Festival from 18th-20th, bringing food demonstrations, workshops, music, expert talks and lots of food & drink stalls to the harbourside. Highlights include Rick Stein’s cookery school, cocktail making, beer bars hosted by Zero Degrees and The Hope & Anchor, and a BBQ hosted by The Cowshed. Tickets start from £5 and are available from their website.

I’m so excited that Bristol Beer Week is finally back! From 19-26th September you can fill your proverbial boots with some of the best beers from the South West (and beyond).

You can read the full programme on the website, but top picks include the very exciting-sounding Beermuda Triangle Festival from 24-26th, a Wiper & True tap takeover at The Hillgrove, Moor Beer takeover at Brewdog (including Mexican food from Little Taqueria) and Oktoberfest celebrations at The Barley Mow. Read what I thought of last year’s event here.

The month then ends with a bang with the launch of Bristol Supperfest (28th Sept – Sat 3rd Oct) – a week of amazing supper club collaborations organised by Foozie. I’m finding it impossible to choose between the events, but see which one (or more!) take your fancy:

• Kansai Kitchen + Ah Ma’s Dumplings – Dim sum & Japanese menu
• The Runciple Spoon + Ah Ma’s Dumplings – Asian hotpot sharing menu
• Flow + Gopal’s Curry Shack – 5 courses of creative vegetarian dishes
• Mi Casa + Ahh Toots – 6 course menu, including crab po’boys and chocolate bourbon cake
• Flow + Plumed Serpent Cantina – A chilli & mezcal infused vegetarian menu

Other food-tastic events

There are also some excellent pop-ups across town this month – you can check out Gopal’s Curry Shack at The Old Bookshop from 1-26th or The Plumed Serpent at The Hillgrove from 8th-12th.

For one-off special events, I’d recommend heading along to the excellent value Steak & Lobster evening at The Rummer on Wed 9th, or how about some breakfast for dinner at Brew Coffee Co’s Brinner event (Crumpets! Pancakes! Kedgeree!) on Thu 17th?

Other events well worth a look are the Beer Dinner at Small Bar on Thu 24th in collaboration with Bad Seed Brewing (one of my favourites) and for the sophisticates among you, the Chateau Musar dinner at The Ox on Monday 21st.

Finally, Wed 30th is the next Sherry Club at Pata Negra – I went to the first event and you can read my review (complete with nifty ’90s pop references) here.

Classes and workshops

Want to learn some more food skills? You can do a fish filleting course at Source on 23rd, an Introduction to Wine course at Clifton Wine School on Friday 18th, or how about a Spanish wine tasting at The Library on the 28th?

Arch House Deli in Clifton also have their wine and cheese evenings on 9th and 16th September, priced at £25. Or you can learn how to make Thai Street Food at Little Kitchen – their DIY pizza and dine evening on the 18th also looks like a lot of fun!

My final recommendation for the month has to be Foozie TV – each week Thom tells you about a new Bristol food highlight, it’s well worth a watch! (You can also hear more from Thom & Foozie at the next Bingo Wings event on Sat 12th Sept).

If you want more food & drink tips for Bristol, you might also like…

• Bristol’s Best Brunches
• The Quest for Bristol’s Best Roast Dinner
• Where to Treat Yourself in Bristol
• Bristol’s Best Craft Beer Bars
• The Bristol Lunch Diaries

Dates for the Diary

• Tue 1st-Sat 26th – Gopal’s Curry Shack at The Old Bookshop
• Fri 4th-Sun 6th – Beer & Cider Festival at The Victoria Park
• Tue 8th-Sat 12th – The Plumed Serpent at The Hillgrove
• Wed 9th – Steak & Lobster Evening at The Rummer
• Wed 9th – Wine & Cheese evening at Arch House Deli
• Fri 11th-Sun 13th – Factoberfest at Tobacco Factory
• Sat 12th – Macaroon workshop at Little Kitchen
• Sat 12th – Bingo Wings at The Christmas Steps
• Wed 16th – Wine & Cheese evening at Arch House Deli
• Thu 17th – Brinner at Brew Coffee Co. 
• Fri 18th – DIY Pizza and Dine at Little Kitchen
• Fri 18th-Sun 20th – Grape and Grain Festival
• Fri 18th – Introduction to Wine at Clifton Wine School
• Sat 19th-Sat 26th – Bristol Beer Week (various locations)
• Wed 20th – Sherry Club at Pata Negra
• Mon 21st – Chateau Musar dinner at The Ox
• Tue 22nd – Moor Beer tap takeover & Mexican food at Brewdog
• Wed 23rd – Fish filleting course at Source
• Wed 23rd – Charcuterie, Cheese & Wine at Clifton Wine School
• Thu 24th – Thai Street Food class at Little Kitchen
• Thu 24th – Bad Seed Brewing Beer Dinner at Small Bar
• Sat 26th – Reinheitsgebot at The Barlew Mow
• Sat 26th – Left Handed Giant  brewing masterclass at Small Bar
• Sun 27th – Foraging walk with Andy Hamilton
• Mon 28th – Spanish wine tasting at The Library
• Mon 28th-Fri 2nd – Bristol Supperfest (various locations)