Oskar Blues kicks off a big beer weekend along the Front Range by saying G'Knight to Gordon

Oskar Blues kicks off a massive beer weekend up and down the Front Range on Saturday with a party celebrating the renaming of its legendary beer, Gordon, to G'Knight. Although Oskar Blues has been making Gordon since 2005, it needed to change the name to avoid a trademark infringement lawsuit from Gordon Biersch, an out-of-state brewing company that makes German-style lagers.

And the party, which will be held at the brewer's Tasty Weasel taproom in Longmont, promises to be an unusual one. For starters, it will feature helicopter rides in order to honor Gordon Knight, the namesake of the beer -- in both of its name iterations. Knight, a fire-fighting helicopter pilot and brewer, helped create three Colorado breweries in the early 1990s.

Oskar Blues will also offer limited six-packs for sale of an imperial IPA called One-Hit Wonder, along with giveaways, food, specials and live music. The party starts at 3 p.m. Go to www.OskarBlues.com for more info.

Two other big beer events -- in Boulder and Colorado Springs -- have already sold out. The Boulder Strong Ale Festival, which runs tonight and tomorrow at Avery Brewing features numerous beers over 8 percent ABV. The seventh annual Firkin Rendezvous at Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs brings together unusual cask-aged ales from 24 different Colorado brewers.

In Fort Collins on Saturday, Odell Brewing will unveil Friek with a party in its taproom. The delicious-sounding beers is part of the brewery's single-serve series; it blends a Kriek style Lambic ale (made with wild yeasts and 3,500 pounds of cherries) with a raspberry Framboise. A Friek-Out party runs from 4 to 6 p.m. with live music and cupcakes.

And in Denver and Boulder, the Mountain Sun, Southern Sun and Vine Street pubs will continue with Stout Month, their annual visit from the gods of Stout beers. On tap for the weekend, you'll find numerous varieties of fantastic stouts, including Chocolate Cherry Dip, Nihilist, Yonder Mountain, Dark Harvest and Coconut Cream.