Neil Fisher is brewing WeldWerks to the top

2019 CEO of the Year Finalist: Neil Fisher and WeldWerks brewed 138 different beers in 2018 alone

Eric Peterson //November 11, 2019//

Neil Fisher is brewing WeldWerks to the top

2019 CEO of the Year Finalist: Neil Fisher and WeldWerks brewed 138 different beers in 2018 alone

Eric Peterson //November 11, 2019//

Neil Fisher | Co-Founder and Head Brewer

WeldWerks Brewing, Greeley

2019 CEO of the Year Finalist

Working with a contract brewery to boost volume in 2017, WeldWerks encountered a crossroads.

"We realized we had gotten away from who we were, which is an innovative brewery in Colorado, pushing boundaries," says Neil Fisher, 34.  "It just was not the right model for us to be that big that quickly and also to be stuck with one particular brand."

So he set a lofty goal for his craft brewery in 2018: 100 new beers for the year. The WeldWerks team took the challenge and ran with it. "We ended up producing 138 brand-new beers," Fisher says. "It galvanized every team we had."

The brewery is once again on pace to hit the century mark — or close to it — in 2019, with an increased emphasis on quality and consistency. Thus, the brewery motto: "Fine-tuned beer."

Total production has jumped from 400 barrels in 2015 to a projected 8,000-plus this year, making WeldWerks one of the state's fastest-growing craft breweries. "We've never been the ones to drive our growth," Fisher says.

To meet demand, the company expanded its capacity in Greeley and opened a second taproom in Colorado Springs in 2019. "We'll be trying to connect with a new community," Fisher says.

Fisher, who was home-brewing in his garage five years ago, credits his team of 32 employees with the brewery's successes. "We've invested in them, and they've bought into a vision,” he says. “It's a dream that's far surpassed any expectations I ever had."


This article is part of ColoradoBiz Magazine's annual CEO of the Year feature. Read more about this year's winner John Hayes and the other finalists: 

TIM CONNELLY | JANINE DAVIDSON | JOHN FISCHER | RUSTY GREGORY  
HEATHER LAFFERTY | ANDY NEINAS | ROBERT THOMPSON | NANCY WHITEMAN