As we slip into autumn, September still has some sunny days, beer festivals, markets and unusual events for you to sink your teeth into.

Read on to see where you should be eating, drinking, and generally being merry this month…

Festivals and celebrations

One of the the first things to check out this month is Buskers Banquet, which returns this month with more live music in food and drink venues across the city, with venues including Tomo No Ramen, the Fierce & Noble brewery, The Scrandit and Kitchen by KASK.

Oddly, September also means Oktoberfest celebrations (as that’s when it’s celebrated in Germany), and many of Bristol’s pubs and breweries are getting in on the action! First up is the mighty Factoberfest at Tobacco Factory from 2nd – 4th September, featuring a line-up of over 60 craft beers, food stalls and live music in their massive courtyard.

Next up is the Oktoberfest party at Lost & Grounded Brewers in Brislington on Sat 17th, where you can enjoy their excellent beers along with Dogtown sausages and pretzels, plus retro German pop and a bras band playing oompah tunes! Tickets are £5 with £1 from each ticket sale going to Caring in Bristol.

You can also join the Oktoberfest celebrations at Little Martha Brewing on 24th &25th, at The Llandoger Trow on King St from 26th, or Alpha Bottle Shop in Bedminster on Thursday 29th. If you fancy a jaunt to Bath, Bathtoberfest is on at several of the city’s pubs, breweries and bottle shops from 30th Sept until 9th October. Or if you want to get organised, get your ticket to Hoptoberfest at Propyard on 21st & 22nd October. Earlybird tickets are £35 per day, including unlimited beers and ciders, plus music.

Bristol Film Festival is back this month, with a programme including special film screenings in exciting locations, plus food and drink.
– Sat 24th, The Godfather 50th anniversary screening at Averys with pizza and wine, £50
– Sun 25th, The Graduate at Clifton Observatory with gin pairing, £24
– Sun 25th, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at Clifton Observatory with gin pairings, £24

Wing Fest returns to the harbourside ampitheatre on 10th and 11th September with 20 different street food traders, restaurants and BBQ teams. Tickets are £20.

And last but by no means least, Circumstance Distillery (the sister distillery to the popular Psychopomp gin distillery) celebrate their 4th birthday this month, and are celebrating with the launch of their first whisky, which also happens to be the first made in Bristol for 80 years! Head along to try samples of the whisky, plus their other grain spirits, including a damn fine white rum, and vodka.

Dinners and special events

From yoga in breweries to supper clubs and gin tasting in the nude, there’s plenty to get excited about this month…

• Tue 6th – She Drinks Beer at The Good Measure
• Tue 6th – Yoga class with G&Ts, £14
• Thu 8th – Night market at Wiper and True with food and drink stalls
• Sat 10th – Circumstance distillery 4th birthday party
• Sat 10th – Keynsham RFC Gin and Cider Festival, tickets £10
• Sat 10th – Moon Fest at Arnolfini, from £5
• Sun 11th – Naked spirit tastings at Bristol Spirit, £35
• Sun 11th – Onam Sadya at Salkaara, £18
• Sun 11th – Yoga Brunch Club at Bristol Beacon with food from The Bristol Loaf, £50
• Wed 14th – Cream Tea Cruise with Bristol Packet Boat Trips, £21.50

• Thu 15th – New York Distilling Company takeover at Milk Thistle
• Thu 15th – Supper club at Burra, £50
• Fri 16th – Vegan dinner and fine wine pairing, £70
• Sat 17th – LHG Vegan Food Festival
• Sun 18th – Yoga Brunch Club at Wiper & True taproom with food from Eatchu, £29
• Sat 24th – Fish & Chips Trip on The Matthew, £32
• Sat 24th – Windmill Hill Market
• Sun 25th – Chandos Road Festival
• Sun 25th – Cream Tea Cruise with Bristol Packet Boat Trips, £21.50
• Fri 30th – An Extra Good Night with Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad at St George’s Bristol, from £20
• Fri 30th & Sat 31 – Closing party at the Good Chemistry tap room

Classes and tastings

Learn something new this month, whether you go to a whisky tasting or try making some Ghanian dishes at a cookery class!

• Wed 7th – Explore Bordeaux, Rhone and South of France wine tasting, £30
• Fri 9th – Sausage making at Ruby & White, £60
• Fri 9th – Beer and cheese night at Newtown Park brewery, £25
• Sat 10th – Champagne and sparkling wine tasting, £40
• Sat 10th – Cheese and wine pairing class, £40
• Mon 12th – Auchentoshan whisky tasting at The Clockwork Rose, £20
• Mon 12th – Pescatarian Ghanian cookery class at Cooking It, £35
• Wed 14th – Averys virtual wine tasting, £60
• Wed 14th – Explore Burgundy and Loire wine tasting, £30
• Thu 15th – Scotch egg masterclass at Little Kitchen, £55
• Sat 17th – Bristol wine tasting experience day, £95
• Sat 17th – Bristol cider tour, £34
• Sat 17th – Vietnamese street food class at Little Kitchen, £65
• Mon 19th – Syrian cookery class at Cooking It, £35
• Wed 21st – Latte art throwdown at Wayland’s Yard
• Wed 21st – Last of the Summer Wines at KASK, £35
• Wed 21st – Discover Italy wine tasting, £30
• Wed 21st – Hendrick’s Neptunia Gin Club at The Milk Thistle, £25

• Fri 23rd & Sat 24th – Beer and Cider fest at Beeses
• Fri 23rd & Sat 24th – End of the Summer Beer & Cider Festival at The Crafty Cow
• Fri 23rd – Gin lover’s masterclass, £25
• Sat 24th – Sherry Uncovered, £40
• Sun 25th – Macaron Masterclass at Little Kitchen, £60
• Mon 26th – Vegan cheese making course, £45
• Tue 27th – Nigerian cookery class, £35
• Wed 28th – Averys Americas cellar wine tasting, £30
• Thu 28th – Wine and cheese tasting at Cave, £25
• Fri 28th – Explore Spain and Portugal wine tasting, £30
• Sat 29th – Cheese and wine pairing class, £40

New places

There are more new bars and restaurants to visit this month, plus a couple more coming soon…

• Nomu on Whiteladies Road is now a Japanese themed bar with food pop ups, starting with Wok ‘n’ Roll in September and October
• North Street Cheese Shop is now open, selling a range of local and continental cheeses.
• Cor opens soon on North Street in Bedminster, headed up by Mark Chapman (who has been Executive Chef at Bravas, Gambas and Cargo Cantina for several years) and his wife Karen.
• Gastronomy by Jon is taking over the kitchen at Dareshack from 1st September, promising a bold and exciting new menu.

That’s it for this month, if you want to keep up to date with more Bristol food news you can follow A Life Less Organised on Facebook, or see what I’m eating on Instagram. Or just come and say hi on Twitter!

If you liked this, you’ll probably also like…

• Country pubs near Bristol
• The Bristol foodie gift guide
• Bristol’s harbourside restaurants