Weber Charcoal Discontinued


 
We've have pallets of Weber briqs at our local garden centre. No problems getting hold of it at all. Strange how it appears to be in short supply in the US. :unsure:

John. The UK hasn't turned into a nightmare. It has left the EU, ergo import taxes are levied on goods bought. Don't think for a second you are not paying "import taxes" from any other country in the EU zone. You pay VAT, or GST, (value added tax, goods and services tax). In Portugal you pay IVT, (Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado), which currently runs at +/- 21%. So no matter which way you look at it, The Man takes his cut somewhere along the line.
 
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Darren Lebner said:
That's what I thought. I think there might be logistics problems getting merchandise to the US.
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I just find it odd that WeberUS doesn't appear to make it anymore. Maybe the stuff in the US comes in via Canada?
I agree, importing briqs into the US would be prohibitively expensive.
 
We had it here in Canada last summer and I stocked up, so I haven’t checked the only store that stocked it in my area to see if it is available this year or not.
 
(Most) everyone thought that US Weber charcoal was a good product, but not worth $20 for a 20 lb bag. I'm sure that's why it languished on shelves and was eventually discontinued.

Weber has been in and out of the US charcoal market a couple of times, but has stayed in the EU and Canada markets because I assume they can profitably make and sell charcoal there, unlike here.
 
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The Weber charcoal's actual suppler is rather like Kodak photographic paper that was actually manufactured by 3M.
Earlier this week, I attended a meeting where the question was asked regarding who made Weber charcoal here in the US. We were told that Royal Oak made it for Weber. I suspect Weber uses someone located 'locally' to manufacture their charcoal in those other markets.

I do think it best to note that the Weber briquettes are most likely not just rebranded RO but rather Weber specified briquettes manufactured by RO.
 
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A guy 5 mins from me is selling new unopened bags of weber briqs for $12 ea. Looks like He bought a pallet some time ago. I bought 4 bags.
 
I still own 2.5 bags....I use it in the E6, it works well for that...............it will stay within2 or 3 degrees for 5 hours without looking at it.
They are about 1.5 years old
I find these to leave a tremendous amount of ash and this is the reason I do not use it that often.
Maybe all briq's are like that as I tend to lean on lump all the time.

I can order these from my go to bbq joint today and have them delivered in 2 days....they never seem to run out of stock.
I am in Ontario.
 
Chris Allingham said:
(Most) everyone thought that US Weber charcoal was a good product, but not worth $20 for a 20 lb bag. I'm sure that's why it languished on shelves and was eventually discontinued.

Weber has been in and out of the US charcoal market a couple of times, but has stayed in the EU and Canada markets because I assume they can profitably make and sell charcoal there, unlike here.
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Yeah, I concur. It's hard to stomach $20 a bag when the competition is $7.99. people who don't grill often don't probably realize there's a big difference. When you cook out four times a year, what do you care? Most of the us probably uses match light..

Over the past several years there's been a big shift in grilling to use lump instead of briquettes as well, and that may have cut in to a lot of Weber sales. Lump is good for grilling because it burns quick and hot. Lump is not as good for smoking..... In fact, it's getting hard to even find briquettes anymore at many barbecue places.
That may have something to do with why Kingsford is the only thing you can find besides lump in many places like grocery stores or home Depot etc.

Only did one 12 hour brisket cook with it, but based on that I very much like the cowboy all natural briquettes. Had very little ash after a 12-hour cook. Strong don't break apart, stay together. The remainder after 12 hours was in very good shape... I went back and bought 12 bags. Only place I've seen them is tractor supply. Basically $10 for 14 lb bag.... But I will pay it if it doesn't smell like Kingsford.. Big full pillow shaped briquettes...... No stupid ridges..... My experience is really that the ridges might light faster or burn faster due to the increased surface area, .... But that's not what you want for smoking. Might be okay for grilling. Most of those are halfway gone by the time the whole chimney gets lit. B&b oak briquettes in orange bag are pretty good, and priced good but they're also smaller.

I like big briquettes and I cannot lie.......
 

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Meathead has an article in the July 2022 issue of Barbecue News magazine titled "Charcoal Science: How Is It Made and What's The Best Form of Charcoal?" (pp 30-31). It's a good read and it matches pretty closely the info I included in my article from years ago titled All About Charcoal.

His recommendation: "Briquets give me consistency as well as better temp and flavor control and I'm all about control when I cook. Eliminate this variable and pick one consistent brand of briquet, learn it, and stick with it for a year until you have all the other variables under control. Remember, the quality of the raw food, salt, rub, sauce, wood smoke, cooking temp, and serving temp far outweigh the impact of charcoal on outcome"
 
Chris Allingham said:
This is commonly thought to be the case. One of your favorites, the Chef's Select briquet, might be a close match to Weber charcoal.
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i've burned through many bags of weber briquets, soo, soo many..... love the stuff. it's worth 20 bucks for 20 pounds...
then after hearing chef's select is weber briquets, i bought it.
and in my opinion, STILL anything made by or with the name royal oak on it is crap.
no comparison whatsoever.
royal oak in my opinion is equal to roundy's charcoal.

i'd rather use matchlight or a gas grill
 
Chris Allingham said:
Meathead has an article in the July 2022 issue of Barbecue News magazine titled "Charcoal Science: How Is It Made and What's The Best Form of Charcoal?" (pp 30-31). It's a good read and it matches pretty closely the info I included in my article from years ago titled All About Charcoal.

His recommendation: "Briquets give me consistency as well as better temp and flavor control and I'm all about control when I cook. Eliminate this variable and pick one consistent brand of briquet, learn it, and stick with it for a year until you have all the other variables under control. Remember, the quality of the raw food, salt, rub, sauce, wood smoke, cooking temp, and serving temp far outweigh the impact of charcoal on outcome"
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When I got to meet head statement that it was "sometimes hard to find lump", I had to laugh. Imo, it's hard to find briquettes today, unless you're looking for Kingsford. Lump is all anybody seems to carry. It's trendy to grill with lump. I think it's marketed to people as closer to real wood based grilling, and not using some industrial product. I also agree with him, I prefer briquettes because it's more controlled, more uniform, and it's really not appetizing to see lumber scraps in your grill.

I went to academy sports looking for b&b a week ago, and I did get a couple of bags of b&b oak briquettes. That was the only type of briquette they carried. But had several types of lump.

I went to a hardware store that's local to me that has one of the best barbecue grill and supply selections in my area. Hoping they had some decent briquettes. They had no briquettes. They had no spot for briquettes..... They had several brands of lump. BGE, jealous devil, b&b, others I never heard of.... And of course a selection of pellets. Apparently lump and pellet grills is where all the money is.
 
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never tried the weber stuff, maybe saw it once somewhere but cant remember where...Ive been using B&B lump mostly but my academy has ran out ...assuming everyone stocked up for summer grilling
 
Chris Allingham said:
Perhaps it depends on where you live.
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Dunno ,
looking at home Depot website I see for briquettes ....Kingsford, Kingsford natural, Kingsford match light, and embers, and a bunch of flavored kingsford you'll never see in the store.

For lump I see.... Royal oak, jealous devil, frontier, Kamado Joe, Kamado Joe premium, Fogo, masterbuilt, Myron Mixon, gaucho's choice, Rockwood, natural oak, better wood products, All kinds of flavored stuff you'll never see in the store.

This pretty much mirrors what I see most places around me....
Designer lump... Trendy.... Marketing.. several choices.. And Kingsford products. My local grocery store has mostly b&b lump.... And Kingsford. And match light. They haven't even had their store brand briquettes there in months. They have more space dedicated to lump maybe because bags are bigger.
.
 
Personally, I'm glad I got to try Weber briqs before they disappeared from the shelves. That's still my favorite briq, although pricey. You'd think if RO made Weber briqs in North America, in one of it's 16 manufacturing sites, you'd think it would be on the shelves??? My guess is that RO and Weber made a deal that Weber wouldn't distribute in the states to help RO sell it's own brand??

Anywho - I am burning some Blues Hogs briqs right now and liking them so far. I bought them because I had a gift card to use up at STL BBQ store, and I've already got lots of BBQ toys. I have been hesitant to buy Blues Hog briqs in the past because they are made in Mexico, and I have no idea who operates the plant.... supposedly Hickory is a main ingredient in the BH briqs, but how do they get that in Mexico??

BUT so far I'm pleasantly surprised. The seem to have a more pleasant odor than Kingsford Original, and they burn plenty hot too. Ash production is probably similar to KF competition which is my 2nd favorite briq of all time next to the Weber Briqs. I can't make up my mind about Jealous Devil Big Briqs... but I do like the JD packaging. The JD briqs are about 1.5x bigger than KF Original. Also about 2x more cost which is why I've only burned 2 bags.
 
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