ACE Hardware

Gulfcoastguy

My local ACE is out of all lump except Cowboy. The jackleg tried to tell me that one of their customers brought back a bag of Rockwood with nails in it. I told him that I would be happy to pass that info onto the company owner but I wasn't going to buy Cowboy. He also tried to tell me that BGE charcoal was unique and that they made it themselves. The Green Egg and Green Egg accessories section didn't look to healthy either.

Langner91

I had to stop at my local ACE to have a key made today.  I looked at his "Gold Dealer Status" selection in about 30 seconds.  It took longer to make the key than to look at the BGE selection.  No lump.  The few Eggcessories they had were priced over MSRP.

It makes me very thankful to have a Grill Shop in my hometown with charcoal, great prices, and friendly service.  

Gulfcoastguy

No lump at Walmart either. 

CigarCityEgger

Our Walmart is completely out of lump too. Swung by Lowe’s and it was Cowboy or Kamado Joe brand...Going to try the Kamado Joe brand out, but $24.99 a bag is about double what the Royal Oak bags are. 

Lit

Gulfcoastguy said:

My local ACE is out of all lump except Cowboy. The jackleg tried to tell me that one of their customers brought back a bag of Rockwood with nails in it. I told him that I would be happy to pass that info onto the company owner but I wasn't going to buy Cowboy. He also tried to tell me that BGE charcoal was unique and that they made it themselves. The Green Egg and Green Egg accessories section didn't look to healthy either.

I tried one of the costco 35lb bags of cowboy a month or so ago and its not bad like it used to be. The stuff i got from costco was atleast as good as royal oak if not better.

Gulfcoastguy

Cowboy only at Lowe’s

Lowcountrygamecock

Our Lowe’s has kamado Joe on close out for $22. I like it. I quit with royal oak after I found a giant piece of insulation in one bag. 

Gulfcoastguy

I just bought a bag of Royal Oak at Homely Despot. I will be near a Kamoda Joe dealer tomorrow afternoon and will see what they have. It looks like the big box stores think grill ends at Labor Day.

Grader07

I just went to my local ACE and they had 4 bags of cowboy, 4 bags of FOGO in the yellow bag, 1 bag BGE,  and almost a whole pallet of the BGE Canadian Maple.  The guy told me the maple was selling fast.  I ended up trying a bag of the FOGO since they didnt have any Rockwood.  The prices were crazy!!!

Langner91

Grader07 said:

I just went to my local ACE and they had 4 bags of cowboy, 4 bags of FOGO in the yellow bag, 1 bag BGE,  and almost a whole pallet of the BGE Canadian Maple.  The guy told me the maple was selling fast.  I ended up trying a bag of the FOGO since they didnt have any Rockwood.  The prices were crazy!!!

I'd give the Canadian BGE a try, just for grins.  My local shop didn't have any yet.

MotownVol

I tried one bag of Cowboy about 5 years ago, and the boss immediately knew the difference and told me to never buy that again.

She is sold on Rockwood and nothing else.

TechsasJim

I ended up stuck with a bag of B&B Oak Lump yesterday.    Smells like it has some sort of accelerant in it, very off putting and my wife noticed it immediately when I brought the food in.   Thankfully it was just a chili dog night so I didn't destroy quality eats.    

TideEggHead

After seeing this thread I stopped by the local HD this morning and picked up another bag of RO for the stash. They had a few bags of RO left and few Cowboy bags.

fishlessman

cowboy went frm flooring scraps to lump that wasnt processed enough, but they have it down pat now. bge canadian, betting basque is making it

Aviator

So why the shortage? 

stlcharcoal

Aviator said:

So why the shortage? 

I know it's syntax, but it's not a shortage, it's just an unachievable demand for US charcoal producers.  There isn't enough wood in the Mark Twain Forest, enough kilns built, enough smoke burner permits, etc.  I imagine scaling to this would raise the price so high, we would all price ourselves out of the market.

For offshore companies that don't have to worry about paying for wood, a fair wage, insurance, and dealing with the EPA, OSHA, DNR, etc, then they can really make a fortune during this if they can get their product into port.

The world will go back to normal some day......supply & demand will equalize.

mpenacho

I have 3 bags of Rockwood left; saving one for this Thanksgiving, one for next Thanksgiving, and one to spare.  Today I emptied my local ACE of regular size bags of lump, two Fogo brown label, and one Basques.  Left the ACE remaining with only three small 8 pound bags of Fogo black label (I couldn't bring myself to take the last they had).  The last (and last) time I tried a "bbag" of the other lump they sometimes sell, my wife also said "don't use that lump anymore, it smells bad".  I've also had bad luck with Ace's web search; it shows several stores around here with Rockwood still in stock, but when I call them up, they have none.  Will Ace ever carry Rockwood again?

stlcharcoal

We have been shipping them multiple truckloads a month, but it's their call where they go.  13 regional warehouses that supply 5000+ stores.  A truckload doesn't last very long when everybody is out.

I think the load next week is going to Wisconsin, which also supplies Minnesota, UP, and the Dakotas.

1voyager

My local ACE has Blues Hog, Cowboy and FOGO.

Fortunately, a BBQ supply store here has plenty of RW. 

kl8ton

Just stopped at my local Ace.

They have in stock: 
Basques
Rockwood
KJ 
Fogo premium
Fogo super premium
Cowboy


I'm buying 2 RW to use my 10 bucks in ace rewards that expires today.  

carrda04

stlcharcoal said:

We have been shipping them multiple truckloads a month, but it's their call where they go.  13 regional warehouses that supply 5000+ stores.  A truckload doesn't last very long when everybody is out.

I think the load next week is going to Wisconsin, which also supplies Minnesota, UP, and the Dakotas.

Fantastic news! Keeping my eyes peeled in MN. Is your thought that demand is currently up due to everyone being home? Despite the personal inconvenience, there are worse things than others learning how to cook right!

Gulfcoastguy

I bought a bag of Kamodo Joe Big Block and I have a bag of Royal Oak. They have plenty of KJ if it works out.

alaskanassasin

kJ was a biotch to get lit... smoldered for twenty minutes then roared to 900 degrees as soon as I turned my back. ymmv.  I bought three bags of Wicked, I didn’t realize it was made in Maine. Looking for to trying that.

kl8ton

alaskanassasin said:

kJ was a biotch to get lit... smoldered for twenty minutes then roared to 900 degrees as soon as I turned my back. ymmv.  I bought three bags of Wicked, I didn’t realize it was made in Maine. Looking for to trying that.

I didn't care for KJ. Did you get a funky asphalt smell while it was burning? 

alaskanassasin

Yes I did, also once was impatient and cooked in it. That was terrible swmbo gave me a pass but it was chicken and tasted like burnt motor oil. I blended 75/25 with RockWood to use it up. 

alaskanassasin

Any Wicked Weekend Warrior users out there? 

alaskanassasin

Does it have a lobsta flava?

GATraveller

I used Weekend Warrior before discovering Rockwood. It's OK and would be a suitable solution if RW isn't available IMO. My ACE has been out of RW the last few visits so I bought BGE Brazilian. It's OK as well but I feel like I'm contributing to the deforestation of the Amazon so will go another route. 

Acn

alaskanassasin said:

Any Wicked Weekend Warrior users out there? 

My dealer has that, Fogo, and BGE, and it is easily my favorite out of those 3 and generally what I use unless I’ve ordered RW online.

fishlessman

alaskanassasin said:

kJ was a biotch to get lit... smoldered for twenty minutes then roared to 900 degrees as soon as I turned my back. ymmv.  I bought three bags of Wicked, I didn’t realize it was made in Maine. Looking for to trying that.

i believe its still made in south america. their original lump was wicked good competition blend and was as good as the top brands nowadays like rockwood. one of the woods used could no longer be cut down so they changed to a weekend warrior blend which is a little more smokey.  i used to buy the comp blend direct by the pallet and when they stopped making it the owner gave me leads on who still had it in stock. nice mom and pop place. i only see it for sale in the expensive butcher shops now, havent bought it in several years. wicked good is also noted to be hard to light but burns along time

alaskanassasin

I stand corrected brother fish. On the bottom of the bag it says product of brazil.