Winter warmers

November is a bit of a lean month - people are still paying for their summer holidays and want to curb their spending before Christmas.

This tends to be a flat time of year - but you don't want flat trade too. So tempt customers into your pub with a few one-off budget events and take the opportunity to match

beer and food. Your events could even

attract some extra goodwill by raising cash for charity.

Challenge for children

Have a Hallowe'en bangers, beer and jacket potato evening aimed at families. Challenge children to draw pictures of spooks and witches and give a prize for the best. Serve hot dogs to the kids with non-alcoholic shandy and more exotic sausages such as wild boar in baked spuds to adults, matched with a full-bodied, malty beer.

Pumpkin party

Throw a pumpkin party. Invite your gardening regulars to bring in their prize pumpkins, squashes and marrows, and give away

prizes for the biggest and funniest vegetables. Serve American-style pumpkin soup with sourdough bread, salt beef and gherkins in bagels, accompanied by American beers

such as Sam Adams Boston lager and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which are available in supermarkets.

Borscht 'n' beer event

Many Eastern European people are now working behind the bar, so if you employ a few, maybe you could rope them in for a Polish or Hungarian theme night - this style of food really suits this time of year. How about a Borscht 'n' Beer supper, with a thick cherry-beer flavoured beetroot soup, accompanied by rye bread? Or resurrect a good old Hungarian goulash. You should be able to find bottles of Zywiec beer from Krakow; specialist beer shops offer a stunning range of imported Russian beers including Baltika lager and porter; or find one of the excellent British-brewed Imperial Russian stouts - and don't forget genuine Czech Budweiser Budvar.

Food tastings

Organise a ticketed afternoon event with tastings from local producers - butchers' sausages and black pudding, cheeses of the region, locally-smoked products and specialities from pasties to preserves, accompanied by a tasting of beers from your local micros. Maybe also hold a competition for the best Christmas cake containing beer and a raffle for charity.

Rewarding recipes

Another competition could feature best recipes for beer dishes. Judge them yourself and announce the winner at an award ceremony, accompanied by a hearty meal and a few appropriate ales.

Cheap and cheerful

Cheer everyone up by holding a summer party in winter. Ask everyone to wear loud shorts and present prizes for the best holiday snaps. Hold an indoor barbecue with burgers, kebabs and summer salads followed by strawberries and cream - pour chilled wheat, blonde and fruit beers.

Drinks Experience

The North East & Yorkshire region of the British Beer & Pub Association is opening the doors of the Good Beer and Food Show a day early to welcome trade customers to an event called the Drinks Experience.

Featuring beer tasting, seminars and demonstrations, the Drinks Experience is a chance for anyone involved with the licensed trade to get together.

Among the brewers are Coors, Timothy Taylors, Theakstons, Black Sheep and Daleside; seminars include Waverley TBS

marketing director Martin Breading guiding people through creating a beer list, Coors' Chris Deakin will advise on how to generate more profit from the cellar and the

Diageo "ESP" team will demonstrate how to serve perfect spirits using a selection of their brands.

The Drinks Experience is being held on Friday, 13 October at the Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate, from noon to 6pm. For tickets call Nicola Trewhitt on 01423 51780.

And say 'cheers' to November - December will be here before you know it!

Nigel Bankes, show Director said: "We hope people will come along and enjoy the opportunity to try new things, gather information, meet old friends and take on board ideas for their outlets."

There will be about 20 supplier stands including regional food companies, wine, spirits and soft drinks companies.

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