DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — At the NFL Draft, you might just get a taste of Door County, thanks to Hinterland Brewery ordering from Door County Custom Meats, where every brat is still tied by hand.
Keith Birnschein grew up casing sausages alongside his grandfather, who owned a local sausage shop.
What started as a chore back then eventually turned into a lifelong opportunity.
"One thing led to the other, and at the time, I couldn't stand making brats, and it turned out to be making a living making brats," Keith Birnschein said.
Keith began his career in venison processing in 1992, years before he and his wife, Jacqi, started Door County Custom Meats. In 2004, they built their own facility, using family recipes passed down from Keith’s grandfather.
Watch: Door County Custom Meats drafted by Hinterland for Draft week bites
On Monday, they walked through their homemade brat casing and tying process.
Though they’ve worked with Hinterland Brewery in Green Bay before, becoming part of the NFL Draft was never something they expected.
"Just out of the blue, we get a call from one of the head chefs at Hinterland," Birnschein said.
They’re making cheddar and beer brats for Hinterland to serve during the NFL Draft.
Jacqi says it felt like a true moment of recognition when Hinterland placed the order, knowing their family recipes would be celebrated during such a historic event.
"I was ecstatic. I thought, 'Hey, this is a great opportunity.' It was more of an honor to be thought of than to have one of the best so-called brats," Jacqi Birnschein said.
The Birnscheins say that even if you’re not attending the draft, you might still get a taste of their brats at Hinterland during the regular football season.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
