Milwaukee marks Fred Usinger Day with an all-day free sausage giveaway at Old German Beer Hall
A one-day event tied to a longstanding Milwaukee food brand
Milwaukee’s annual Fred Usinger Day is being observed on Monday, Feb. 23, with an all-day giveaway centered on one of the city’s best-known food producers. The event, now in its 19th year, is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Old German Beer Hall, with one free Usinger sausage available per person while supplies last.
The venue sits on North Old World Third Street in downtown Milwaukee, directly across from Usinger’s retail store. Old German Beer Hall operates as a Bavarian-style beer hall and regularly features Usinger products on its menu, reflecting the close geographic and commercial link between the two businesses on the same block.
What will be served and how the distribution is set up
Organizers have identified the giveaway item as a custom smoked bratwurst recipe made with Hofbräu Dunkel Lager beer and applewood-smoked bacon. The distribution window spans 12 hours, and the stated limit is one sausage per person. Event planners have projected attendance exceeding 1,000 guests over the course of the day.
In addition to the food giveaway, the program includes live music during the day. A ceremonial beer-keg tapping is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the appearance of Frederick “Fritz” Usinger IV, a fourth-generation leader of the company. Beer samples are planned in conjunction with the tapping.
- Date: Monday, Feb. 23
- Time: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (while supplies last)
- Location: Old German Beer Hall, downtown Milwaukee
- Limit: One free sausage per person
- Additional programming: Live music; keg tapping at 6 p.m.
Company background and why the day exists
Usinger’s traces its origins to 1880, when founder Fred Usinger established the Milwaukee business after immigrating from Germany in the late 1870s and purchasing a Third Street butcher shop. The company remains family-owned and operates in downtown Milwaukee, where its storefront has been a prominent fixture for generations.
Over time, Usinger’s expanded beyond a local butcher operation into a nationally recognized sausage and deli-meat producer. The company’s leadership has remained in the Usinger family, and in 1988 Fritz Usinger became president, continuing the multigenerational stewardship that has defined the brand’s identity.
Fred Usinger Day’s format—an open-to-the-public giveaway with a strict per-person limit—reflects an event designed to accommodate high demand while keeping access broadly available across the day.
What else visitors may encounter nearby
The Usinger retail store across the street is expected to run in-store specials connected to the day’s observance. With the giveaway positioned in the city’s Old World Third Street area, the event also functions as a draw to a dense downtown corridor of restaurants and attractions, concentrating foot traffic around a single historic block for much of the day.