latest teaser photo. People commenting about the thermometer range implying it will be a gas grill, maybe kamado performer charcoal gas assisted.
I'm still thinking Sear Station...
2016 New Weber Products
- Thread starter Chris Allingham
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I'm still thinking Sear Station...
Perhaps someone has spotted Bigfoot?
http://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/27247-1st-its-weber-next-is-blaze-grills/?p=365485
http://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/27247-1st-its-weber-next-is-blaze-grills/?p=365485
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Someone get me a JOB so I might be able to buy one of these new toys!! Forced retirement has put a serious cramp in my case of Grill Aquisition Syndrome (GAS)! I have a design idea and a top flight welder on standby for a "large format" grill! Just need to be able to finance it! No, I don't "need" it but, it's not about need is it?
Rich Dahl
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Yes, yes I have GAS also, I just bought another grill yesterday, a Genesis 3000 to rehab, did I need it ...no. But for $40 in excellent condition how could I let it fall into the hands of a non Weber enthusiast who would not give it the love it needs.
I have to stop typing now because Barb just came out into the garage with a pitch fork looking for me... hope she doesn't look under the car
Bill W San Diego
TVWBB Super Fan
Thanks for the big LOL Rich ( under the car ). A great Monday morning start.
Bill
Bill
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Yep, I passed on the very, very clean Genesis 3000 (almost full tank of fuel included), I'm now feeling a little remorse but, I must contain my GAS!
After I find a new job, I will release my GAS!
I figure there will be another piece of grill equipment when finances get squared away!
After I find a new job, I will release my GAS!
I figure there will be another piece of grill equipment when finances get squared away!
Just found this here: http://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/27247-1st-its-weber-next-is-blaze-grills/page-2
"I saw the new Weber product today. It's not a kamado of any sort. Weber has a sustained competitive advantage in bending metal and Kettles. They would be stupid to get into a small niche market like kamados.
The new product is a 24", dual shell, air insulated, kettle that comes complete with a heat deflector. The price point is $1499. There will be two models … a stand alone kettle and a Performer type of kettle/table combo. Both units are equipped with a gas ignition system like the top tier Performer series. The deflector plate is hinged to allow for the addition of charcoal for cooks longer than 10-12 hours.
The vent system is substantially improved from that found on the standard kettle. The top vent reminds you of the standard kettle top vent until you notices it flips up to allow for improved air flow producing higher combustion hence higher heat than can be achieved on the standard kettle.
This new kettle is a substantial leap forward for Weber. It will be the high end kettle and a must have for all kettle fans. It's solves a huge numbers of problems endemic in the basic kettle type cooker."
"I saw the new Weber product today. It's not a kamado of any sort. Weber has a sustained competitive advantage in bending metal and Kettles. They would be stupid to get into a small niche market like kamados.
The new product is a 24", dual shell, air insulated, kettle that comes complete with a heat deflector. The price point is $1499. There will be two models … a stand alone kettle and a Performer type of kettle/table combo. Both units are equipped with a gas ignition system like the top tier Performer series. The deflector plate is hinged to allow for the addition of charcoal for cooks longer than 10-12 hours.
The vent system is substantially improved from that found on the standard kettle. The top vent reminds you of the standard kettle top vent until you notices it flips up to allow for improved air flow producing higher combustion hence higher heat than can be achieved on the standard kettle.
This new kettle is a substantial leap forward for Weber. It will be the high end kettle and a must have for all kettle fans. It's solves a huge numbers of problems endemic in the basic kettle type cooker."
Dustin Dorsey
TVWBB Hall of Fame
That's looking like a performer style cart.
Monday's teaser photo:
Note the wire rack below the kettle and reflected in the kettle surface.
Note the wire rack below the kettle and reflected in the kettle surface.
If you live in or near Wilmette IL, here's your chance to seeing the new Weber Summit Charcoal Grill:
http://patch.com/illinois/wilmette/...-store-introduces-weber-summit-charcoal-grill
http://patch.com/illinois/wilmette/...-store-introduces-weber-summit-charcoal-grill
Backyard Barbecue Store and Weber Grill will celebrate the debut of Weber’s newest grill (#grillofalifetime), Wednesday, April 6 from 4-7 p.m. The Backyard Barbecue Store, 1147 Greenleaf Ave, will host a three-hour event where the public will see the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill in action and be able to purchase it.
To reserve your spot, please email Dan at dan@backyardbbqstore.com.
Dan Marguerite, owner of The Backyard Barbecue Store, is honored to be selected as one of Chicagoland’s retailers of the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill.
“Dan was chosen to be one of the dealers because of his depth and breath of knowledge of all things barbecue,” said Lisa Ryan of SKKR, Weber’s distribution representative.
The Backyard Barbecue Store offers an extensive array of everything from grills and accessories to smokers and outdoor kitchens. Hours of operation are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store is closed on Mondays.
“Weber is synonymous with outdoor cooking,” said Marguerite. “Our customers will truly appreciate this new grill’s ability and versatility to smoke a brisket and grill a steak.”
To reserve your spot, please email Dan at dan@backyardbbqstore.com.
Dan Marguerite, owner of The Backyard Barbecue Store, is honored to be selected as one of Chicagoland’s retailers of the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill.
“Dan was chosen to be one of the dealers because of his depth and breath of knowledge of all things barbecue,” said Lisa Ryan of SKKR, Weber’s distribution representative.
The Backyard Barbecue Store offers an extensive array of everything from grills and accessories to smokers and outdoor kitchens. Hours of operation are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store is closed on Mondays.
“Weber is synonymous with outdoor cooking,” said Marguerite. “Our customers will truly appreciate this new grill’s ability and versatility to smoke a brisket and grill a steak.”
Gary London
TVWBB Super Fan
A must have? I somehow doubt it. Perhaps a "would love to have"
Huge numbers of problems? Wow, that many. I must cancel my new 22.5 Kettle Premium (£159 = $226) that arrives this week and spend £1055 = $1500 on this must have, all problems solved new toy.
Bill W San Diego
TVWBB Super Fan
Does anyone know of any place in the San Diego CA area that will have the GOALT on display? Who could I contact to find out?
Thanks
Bill
Thanks
Bill
Ryan Gardner
TVWBB Fan
The price point for a super-duper charcoal kettle can't possibly be the $1500 someone mentioned before - who would they sell it to?
I can't imagine them putting this much marketing effort to something that is going to be priced out of the enthusiast mass market. The performer series are $400. I can't imagine them going much higher than that.
I'm pretty enthusiastic about grilling but also pretty careful with my money. I can't ever see myself paying $1500 for a charcoal kettle - the only thing they can possibly add would be convenience features. The things that are inconvenient about a kettle are the startup time (flame ignition is a convenience feature - you can pay $400 and get that new on a performer). The other thing that is inconvenient about a kettle is the ash removal - looks like they have a similar setup to the performers / one touch golds etc already from the teaser image so that wont get any more convenient. The other thing that is inconvenient about a charcoal grill is maintaining consistent temperature - it's not _hard_ to do, but it's inconvenient to have to baby sit it all the time.
The problem is they've done a _really good job_ on their summit series gas grills. The smoker box plus a natural gas supply line run to my S-670 mean that I hardly ever light up my charcoal performer anymore unless I've got something really special to do... like corn on the cob surrounded by actual coals or something. The surface area is so much better on the gas grill, the sear station is so much more convenient, the rotisserie set up is so much easier.... and when I want to get some smoke flavor I can just dump some wood chips in the smoker box and get a really good smoke flavor.
I used to be a charcoal snob - and I still do argue that with a $100 charcoal grill you can get the same cooking results as you can with a $2000 gas grill - it just takes more time and care. Less expensive gas grills can have hot spots or can lack features that you can easily achieve with a charcoal grill (like setting it up for multiple heat zones, or being able to get it hot enough to sear stakes properly) - it's hard to get much more convenient than their current premium gas grills. Now a WSM and a gas grill serve different purposes. I do fire my WSM up more than my performer - but with a temperature control system for the WSM it's also pretty convenient (and for cooks of only a few hours you can set it and it will stay a steady temperature for hours at a time so you don't even really need to bother with the stoker stuff)
This "grill of a lifetime" if they price it into the $1500 range they are smack dab in the middle of their premium gas grill range and I can't imagine how they will compete with themselves unless they truly believe that there is a big market of people with that kind of money to spend on a really nice charcoal grill because they hate gas. At that price point, you could buy a performer and every single "gourmet series" grill accessory they make and you'd still be below that initial price point... that's why I highly doubt it will be priced that high. I can't imagine it will sell at that price point unless it also slaughters your meat for you or brews beer for you or sings and dances or does something that other grills can't do.
My guess is it will probably slide in their line under their performer series in terms of price and make an aggressive point to be something that all the existing kettle users could (and would want to) drop a few hundred bucks on to upgrade to - but I've obviously thought about this a lot less than Weber has.
EDIT: although they did name it "Weber Summit Charcoal Grill" so I'll throw out my original guess and say it will be above the performer series but maybe in the $5-800 range... and at that price point it'd better have some _really_ compelling features to justify their premium "summit" name being attached to it
I can't imagine them putting this much marketing effort to something that is going to be priced out of the enthusiast mass market. The performer series are $400. I can't imagine them going much higher than that.
I'm pretty enthusiastic about grilling but also pretty careful with my money. I can't ever see myself paying $1500 for a charcoal kettle - the only thing they can possibly add would be convenience features. The things that are inconvenient about a kettle are the startup time (flame ignition is a convenience feature - you can pay $400 and get that new on a performer). The other thing that is inconvenient about a kettle is the ash removal - looks like they have a similar setup to the performers / one touch golds etc already from the teaser image so that wont get any more convenient. The other thing that is inconvenient about a charcoal grill is maintaining consistent temperature - it's not _hard_ to do, but it's inconvenient to have to baby sit it all the time.
The problem is they've done a _really good job_ on their summit series gas grills. The smoker box plus a natural gas supply line run to my S-670 mean that I hardly ever light up my charcoal performer anymore unless I've got something really special to do... like corn on the cob surrounded by actual coals or something. The surface area is so much better on the gas grill, the sear station is so much more convenient, the rotisserie set up is so much easier.... and when I want to get some smoke flavor I can just dump some wood chips in the smoker box and get a really good smoke flavor.
I used to be a charcoal snob - and I still do argue that with a $100 charcoal grill you can get the same cooking results as you can with a $2000 gas grill - it just takes more time and care. Less expensive gas grills can have hot spots or can lack features that you can easily achieve with a charcoal grill (like setting it up for multiple heat zones, or being able to get it hot enough to sear stakes properly) - it's hard to get much more convenient than their current premium gas grills. Now a WSM and a gas grill serve different purposes. I do fire my WSM up more than my performer - but with a temperature control system for the WSM it's also pretty convenient (and for cooks of only a few hours you can set it and it will stay a steady temperature for hours at a time so you don't even really need to bother with the stoker stuff)
This "grill of a lifetime" if they price it into the $1500 range they are smack dab in the middle of their premium gas grill range and I can't imagine how they will compete with themselves unless they truly believe that there is a big market of people with that kind of money to spend on a really nice charcoal grill because they hate gas. At that price point, you could buy a performer and every single "gourmet series" grill accessory they make and you'd still be below that initial price point... that's why I highly doubt it will be priced that high. I can't imagine it will sell at that price point unless it also slaughters your meat for you or brews beer for you or sings and dances or does something that other grills can't do.
My guess is it will probably slide in their line under their performer series in terms of price and make an aggressive point to be something that all the existing kettle users could (and would want to) drop a few hundred bucks on to upgrade to - but I've obviously thought about this a lot less than Weber has.
EDIT: although they did name it "Weber Summit Charcoal Grill" so I'll throw out my original guess and say it will be above the performer series but maybe in the $5-800 range... and at that price point it'd better have some _really_ compelling features to justify their premium "summit" name being attached to it
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Someone posted that part of tomorrow's reveal will include info on which dealers will have the grill on display.
Drew Indy
TVWBB Fan
$1500 is still cheaper than an XL BGE with plate setter, nest, and Woo. Plus, Weber customer service is second to none in the grilling/smoking game. Being part of the Summit line, it will be a premium product. Most likely, it will come with everything you need, so you don't have to spend another $500 on accessories...unless you want to.
Ryan Gardner
TVWBB Fan
A BGE is ceramic, and has a much different cooking characteristics than metal kettle. (And temperatures that can get a whole lot hotter than the 600 degrees on the dial shown before for things like pizza ovens - the BGE thermometer goes past 800 degrees IIRC it's not too hard to get it there)
Weber customer support is excellent (the one exception I can think of to this is their policy forbidding any kind of conversion between propane and natural gas - even for certified gas professionals doing the work) - but customer service and the weber brand alone aren't enough to make a metal kettle perform like a thick ceramic BGE.
I'll hold judgement until I see what features they put on it - from the teaser images released so far it seems underwhelming for the "summit" badge to be put on it. (It's only one more day... so waiting wont be that hard)
Weber customer support is excellent (the one exception I can think of to this is their policy forbidding any kind of conversion between propane and natural gas - even for certified gas professionals doing the work) - but customer service and the weber brand alone aren't enough to make a metal kettle perform like a thick ceramic BGE.
I'll hold judgement until I see what features they put on it - from the teaser images released so far it seems underwhelming for the "summit" badge to be put on it. (It's only one more day... so waiting wont be that hard)
I found that comment about "huge number of problems" funny, too.
When the announcement first came out, I was thinking about what problems Weber was trying to solve with this new product. Based on their teaser video, it's supposed to be just as good at smoking a brisket as it is at grilling a steak. The existing kettle is more adept at direct grilling, but can be adapted to indirect cooking by building a small fire to one side, adding small amounts of charcoal over time, etc. Still, there is not significant separation between heat and meat. The existing WSM is more adept at indirect cooking, but can be adapted to direct cooking by removing the middle section and placing the grate right over the fire, but that's not an ideal setup, either. Also, people have asked for One-Touch cleaning system and a work table on the WSM for years, but to no avail.
So this grill comes along and tries to be the best of both worlds. If the info in this post is correct, there will be a hinged deflector that allows for an easy switch between direct and indirect cooking (WSM users note: No mention of a water pan). An insulated bowl and lid will mean longer cook times with less charcoal used. A lid vent that pops open for increased air flow means higher cooker temps are possible a la BGE. Smoker fans get the One-Touch cleaning system, available work table, and gas assist charcoal lighting.
Does this solve a huge number of problems? Maybe not "huuuuuuge"...but if it's equally proficient at grilling and smoking with ease, that's pretty cool. We'll find out tomorrow.
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