Remember back in the late 70s how the cool ex-pot smokers all of a sudden started having wine and cheese pairing parties? It was all the rage, get together with all your other friends who had just cut their hair and gotten mortgages, everyone bring a bottle of wine (French or German) and an imported cheese (American cheese was still American cheese) to share. Eat, drink and make serious talk about it.

You say you don't remember? Uh-oh. Am I making one of those 50-year-old cultural references my baby office mates tease me about?

Just as well. Because what I'm about to say is that cheese and wine are so over. Now it's all about cheese and beer. (Or anything and beer.)

And right on the trendy mark comes Liberty Heights Fresh , offering a Friday evening tasting class about beer and cheese. Epic beer of course, because although Utah has had good beer for awhile, we've never had beer marketed as aggressively as Epic. Every week I get an invitation to some dinner or tasting featuring these high-point beers.

It's perfect harvest weather and the class will be held on the store's porch this Friday, November 5,  from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Michael Malchowski from Epic will present ales and lagers and the Heights' own cheesehead Emiliano Lee will talk about the cheeses.

It's a small, intimate class, should be lots of discussion and back and forth, kind of like those parties you don't remember. Only $39 a person. Call to reserve your spot, 801-583-7374.