GenXYZ 2022: Neil Fisher

This year’s Top 25 Young Professionals vary in their backgrounds and their professional pursuits – they’re leaders in banking, real estate, nonprofits, law, entrepreneurship and architecture, to name just a few. 

Some are lifelong Coloradans who couldn’t conceive of living anywhere else; others are transplants from the East and West coasts or somewhere between. What they have in common is a relentless achiever’s mindset, a can-do spirit and a desire to do good for others as they do well for themselves.

Read on to learn more about Neil Fisher, Co-Founder & Co-Owner of Weldwerks Brewing Co.

Neil Fisher, 36 

Co-Founder & Co-Owner, Weldwerks Brewing Co. | Greeley

After homebrewing in his garage for more than five years, Neil Fisher received his first major brewing accolades, winning two medals at the 2014 Big Beers Homebrew competition in Breckenridge. 

It was an important proof of concept; Fisher had made a handshake deal with Colin Jones, an IT management executive and fellow craft beer enthusiast, that the two would launch a craft beer enterprise if Fisher medaled at the homebrewers’ event. 

Thirteen months later, Fisher and Jones opened WeldWerks Brewing Co. in historic downtown Greeley, in a 1950s building that formerly housed a car dealership. What began as a modest operation producing fewer than 400 barrels its first year has now become a staple of the Colorado craft beer scene with more than 12,000 barrels produced in 2021 and more growth on the horizon. 

The duo has also worked hard to make WeldWerks a fulfilling workplace. With perks such as complete benefits packages and team-building opportunities, WeldWerks was “Great Place to Work”—certified in 2021—meaning that 100% of employees surveyed gave the brewery high marks. Known for its rotating lineup of innovative beers, the brewery recently opened The Annex, an in-house eatery that features chef-driven, seasonal and locally minded dishes. 

During the onset of COVID-19 in 2020 when hand sanitizer was hard to come by, Fisher showed his desire to give back to his community. Using the FDA’s provisional formula for hand sanitizer, WeldWerks teamed up with local maltsters, distillers and manufacturers on a project in which more than 6,000 gallons of hand sanitizer were distributed, nearly half of which went to first responders, hospitals and nonprofits.