Bill Welter

“Journeyman Comes Home”

Bill Welter was born in 1976 in Valparaiso, Indiana, into a family with deep roots in community enterprises. His grandfather, William Welter, began his business career in local automobile dealerships in the 50s. In 1973, the fearless and ever-enterprising William, already well into middle age and despite having little prior experience in banking, bought First National Bank of Valparaiso. His son and Bill’s father, Chuck Welter, then joined the bank and would go on to serve as its president and CEO for more than 25 years. Naturally, then, as a young man, Bill also worked in the family banking business. He graduated from Valparaiso High School in 1995, then went on to attend Missouri State University, where he excelled and also played Division I golf. Hoping to make an impact on the tough, historical old courses in Scotland, after completing college, he traveled there, first for golf, but also during that time, he developed a fascination with whiskey. For money, Bill waited tables and, while doing so, met several people, including Tasmania’s Greg Ramsay, who helped open his eyes to the craft of distilling.

When he returned to Indiana in 2001, Bill promptly rejoined the family banking business. However, in 2006, the bank was sold, and that sale marked a pivot point and a change in fortune—with the family bank no longer an option, Bill had to consider what his path might now be. Thinking back over his days in Scotland, Bill immersed himself in the art of distilling. Over the next few years, he visited distilleries in Tasmania, joining his old friend Ramsay, who was building one there. He did internships and gained hands‑on exposure to manufacturing spirits all over the world. Closer to home, he worked with the Birneckers in Chicago during KOVAL Distillery’s early years.

Then, in 2010, deciding that opening a distillery was to be his next move and working with his father, Chuck, Bill purchased part of the old “Featherbone” factory in Three Oaks, Michigan. Featherbone had been a historic business where actual featherbone corsets and buggy whips had been manufactured nearly a century before. Now with a new lease on life, the old building was found to be the ideal place to become a distillery. By the fall of 2011, the name “Journeyman Distillery” was chosen, the tasting room was finally completed, and distilling operations had begun.

It was also about this time that Bill married Chicagoan Johanna Fridrich. Their partnership has since become central to Journeyman Distillery. Completing the circle, Bill and Johanna now have a daughter, Islay, whose name is inspired by a small Scottish whisky‑island.

Asked about the origin of the unusual moniker “Journeyman,” Welter explains, “When I traveled to Scotland and then to Tasmania, that’s where I learned how to distill. So, it has a lot to do with the travel aspect. The second part of it involves the sale of the family business. It was unexpected. I had made a commitment to work in the family business as a third-generation banker, but after it was sold, I had to think about what my next step would be. So, for me, it has a lot to do with the idea that life is a journey.”

At Journeyman, the Welters have done more than make spirits; they have built a brand as well as an experience. The Three Oaks distillery boasts a restaurant called ‘Staymaker’, event spaces, and a putting green behind the distillery named “Welter’s Folly,” scaled after something Bill experienced while in Scotland.

A long‑held dream of Bill’s had always been to bring Journeyman back to Valparaiso, the place of his birth and family business roots. Though Indiana law did not initially permit craft distilling, changes over time allowed him to plan a second facility in his hometown. Then in 2023, stars aligned and Journeyman opened a new, $40 million facility in Valparaiso called “The American Factory,” again repurposing an old historic manufacturing site.