Leith's new Biscuit Factory Beverage Festival is worthy of a toast – Scotsman comment

Former Crawford’s biscuits factory is now home to more than 30 food and drink producers

Old factories often have an appealing ‘urban chic’ feel but it can sometimes be difficult to find a use for them. So the new “Biscuit Factory Beverage Festival” – due to take place in April in a former Crawford’s biscuits building in Leith – helps preserve a part of Scotland’s industrial heritage while taking advantage of the setting.

Since it became an events space in 2015, the venue has been included in Leith Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, while also becoming home to more than 30 food and drink producers, making the idea of a ‘beverage festival’ a fairly simple one to understand.

In addition to craft beers, fine wine and boutique spirits produced by “smaller, more independent brands”, the festival promises to feature music, good food – the hotdogs will apparently be “gourmet” – and what are referred to as “retro drinking games”.

Edinburgh may be a city full of festivals but there is still room to expand beyond the centre and the usual summer/winter timeframe. And if it helps small businesses while keeping an old building in use, so much the better.