2016 New Weber Products


 
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Drew Indy said:
$1500 is still cheaper than an XL BGE with plate setter, nest, and Woo.
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Ryan Gardner said:
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)
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I was getting my hair cut last week and telling my BGE-owning barber that the Weber crowd was getting excited about this new grill. He asked how much, I said starting at $1500, and he said, "That's not bad, I've got a lot more money than that in my BGE." So I don't know if the price point will scare-off the folks who spend this kind of money on grills.

Ryan, that's an interesting observation about the scale on the thermometer. Most of the BGE therms I've seen are marked to 750*F/400*C. Looks like Weber's is 650*F max. If the unit is two layers of metal with air gap in between and the lid vent pops open for increased air flow, maybe this thing will exceed 650*F without too much effort.
 
Ryan Gardner said:
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.
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Weber has gas grills starting at $400 or so that can handle most of the grilling duties for a large part of the population, but they also have Genesis grills at around $1000 and the top of the line Summit which can cost $2500. In short, they have all the bases covered in the gas market, from entry level to high end.

That's not the case with charcoal. The lower end is covered by the Walmart special through to the upper end which is the 26.75. The Performer adds in the convenience of the table and gas assist on Premium end, but that's pretty much where it stops. Sure, there's the Ranch Kettle, but that's for a very small niche market. They really don't have a "high end" Charcoal grill which is what this new grill is.

There might be some cannibalization of target market with this grill, meaning that some people who would have bought a OTG, a 26'er or a Performer might buy this instead, but it's more about going after a new market. People who would have bought an Egg, a KJ, or some other high end charcoal grill.

Just looking around here locally, there's a number of hardware stores that carry BGE's alongside Weber. There's also a couple of stores dedicated purely to the Egg. This tells me that there is a sizeable market out there for high end charcoal and a portion of that is what Weber hopes to capture.
 
DaveW said:
Just looking around here locally, there's a number of hardware stores that carry BGE's alongside Weber. There's also a couple of stores dedicated purely to the Egg. This tells me that there is a sizeable market out there for high end charcoal and a portion of that is what Weber hopes to capture.
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Dave, I think you're right on. Your premise is correct...this is the high-end charcoal market segment that Weber has not been competing in.

I visited an Ace Hardware in a high-end neighborhood in San Jose. They've got a big selection of Weber grills and BGEs on the sidewalk out front of the store. I asked the clerk if he knew about the new Weber GOAL and he said no. When I described it as something that might be Weber's answer to the BGE segment, he thought that was awesome. "We need something like the BGE in the Weber lineup," he said.

As for cannibalizing the existing lineup, I doubt Weber will cry too much about letting go of a few 26" sales at $299 and some Performer sales at $400 in exchange for selling some of these $1500 grills. :D
 
Chris Allingham said:
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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I wonder what time we will find out?
 
Chris Allingham said:
I was getting my hair cut last week and telling my BGE-owning barber that the Weber crowd was getting excited about this new grill. He asked how much, I said starting at $1500, and he said, "That's not bad, I've got a lot more money than that in my BGE." So I don't know if the price point will scare-off the folks who spend this kind of money on grills.
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$1.5K is nothing when you go to the "BBQ" stores (There's one in my town, Brentwood and one up in Sonoma that we go to alot. Nice BBQ's start at $2K, and I see people spend $5K on BBQ (and accessories) just like that. I actually think "we Weber-faithfuls" get off pretty reasonably priced, when you compare. (hope Weber don't read this) :)

I wonder if Weber will update their website at midnight (their time) Hope so, cuz that's only 9PM my time. I am interested to see what it finally turns out to be...Gasser / Pellet....Gasser / Charcoal (that shot of the charcoal catcher make me thinks that's it) or some sort of egg in steel.... Will be interesting to see what it ends up being
 
Latest teaser photo, this time from Weber UK...another detail confirmed.

Sneak peek #3: Unique lid damper with unsurpassed airflow that offers extreme heat, extremely fast. Like if you think this is extremely cool.​

g8_zpsfyutvwyd.jpg
 
Chris Allingham said:
Latest teaser photo, this time from Weber UK...another detail confirmed.
Sneak peek #3: Unique lid damper with unsurpassed airflow that offers extreme heat, extremely fast. Like if you think this is extremely cool.​
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That would be a good accessory to existing BBQ's / WSM :)
 
Chris Allingham said:
Latest teaser photo, this time from Weber UK...another detail confirmed.

Sneak peek #3: Unique lid damper with unsurpassed airflow that offers extreme heat, extremely fast. Like if you think this is extremely cool.​

g8_zpsfyutvwyd.jpg
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I would love to have that for my 18.5 WSM.
 
i'm staying awake all night tonight so i'll be the first on my block to see what the grill of a lifetime will be.
 
Here it is, just leaked photos!!

Not exactly what I was hoping for but pretty cool. This is the $2,000 model.
FullSizeRender_zpsvam8qk5v.jpg
 
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