Well I made 9 feet of bratwurst. I used the collagen casings for the first time. I've only made sausage a couple of prior times and made Italian and with natural casings.
1. I should have tasted the sausage before stuffing- needed something else. Now 9 ' of so-so I have the eat up.
2. Didn't like the "fake" casings. The natural casings have stretch, you can fill them pretty tight and when you cook them- they don't burst. The stuff I used split lengthwise when I cooked it. The natural, to make links I pinched the "spot" and then twisted a couple of times and it stayed closed. The collagen, did the same thing and they would pop open. I cut some 5" sections of the collagen casing and bow tied to form links and did one about every 18" but I wanted to do 5" links.
Are you supposed to smoke bratwurst? I'm not looking forward to eat all of it. I always eat my mistakes- a motivation to do better next time.

Collagen casings suck. Not a fan. I grill the Johnsonville brats that we eat. You could smoke them I guess.

Traditional bratwurst is not smoked.

I made a large batch of lousy sausage one time- way too much elk and not enough pork (70/30). Was too dry and seemed like the batch was never going to get finished eating.

AMEN
Cook your brats in a shallow bath of beer.

Well thought I'd pass on my experience, natural casings from now on. I fried some of the stuff last night, actually not that bad.

Im with you guys natural is the way to go for casings.

Buy hog or sheep casings. I buy everything from https://www.alliedkenco.com/. Their store is on the north side of 610. Super nice people and helpful.
We processed six deer in the garage this year with the new grinder we bought from them. I don't see where you are located, but send me a PM and I'll happily walk you through our process. We make all kinds of sausage and enjoy it all year.
The seasonings there are really nice. The jalapeno and pan sausage are eaten weekly here. My wife is ready for me to get my first MLD tag in October to make more.
My buddy and I are working on a cold smoke set-up for next season.
Enjoy!

Yes, always make a few little patties and cook them up in a skillet before you stuff. I've tweaked seasonings many times after a taste test. Hog/sheep casings are my favorite.

I've tried a few Bratwurst 'do-it-yourself' recipes from the internet, but the last time I made it I used AC Legg's #104 Bratwurst seasoning. It came out much better.

Yeah, I think I'll go with a packaged seasoning.