By Alix Holmes

Perhaps it’s the frigid Colorado winter, the daunting realization that another year has come and passed, or simply a passion for the craft scene and supporting local businesses, but there are a few things Coloradans love to do: drink beer and travel. With no shortage of breweries, all with their own unique style, it’s easy to find your resident spot for hops, malts, yeast, and water.

For The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project, located in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe, beer is more than just the essential four ingredients. The brewer finds inspiration to create complex, aromatic, and effervescent beers that represent the diversity of flavors from across the globe. Ben Gettinger, co-owner, revealed that, “the beers were inspired by our brewer’s (Andrew Moore) time as an adventuring archaeologist and the cultures and cuisines he’d encounter.”

Taproom manager Kevin McCrossin emphasized, “Our beers both inspire wanderlust and draw their inspiration from sojourns to different cultures. We want one of our customers who gets that in our tasting room to also have the opportunity to experience something exciting out there like this.” It is their love of traveling and desire to continue the itinerant mentality that inspired the Trip to China contest.

The 10-day journey includes roundtrip airfare from San Francisco; all transportation within China; deluxe and first-class hotel accommodations; eight buffet breakfasts; two lunches; two dinners; and a tour of the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Terra Cotta Soldiers, and Shanghai. Gettinger says China is an incredible destination and a great decision for their first destination giveaway. “It’s such a fast-growing economy with so many vibrant domestic industries starting to come into their own … and it’s the perfect fit for our focus on pushing beer’s boundaries and complementing its traditional flavors by brewing with adjuncts.”

All you have to do to win this trip to China is drink beer. By joining the brewery’s FiveStars rewards program, you will earn one point for every dollar spent in the tasting room as well as other loyalty program rewards. After accumulating 50 points, you can redeem them for one contest entry ticket. The more you drink, the more you earn and the more you can redeem for unlimited entries. The contest will run until March 31, 2018, where the winning ticket will be drawn at a party in the taproom.

There are countless events and specials on the Intrepid Sojourner’s monthly calendar, with Saturdays being the most special: double rewards points! So if your New Year’s resolution happens to be traveling the world or visiting China, I recommend an interesting way of spending money to go abroad. Seems counterintuitive, but could totally pay off. Plus, their tap list is out of this world!