Berger Brothers Charcoal

Has anyone bought charcoal from Berger Brothers lately? I bought a 40 lb bag last summer (Nature Glow) and was very disappointed in what I got. Slow to light and many broken pieces and dust. Wasn't worth a damn. Are they still selling that brand and has the quality improved?

I bought a bag at Lincolnwood Produce last weekend. It was fine.

Some bags get beat up more than others.

Muttster wrote:Has anyone bought charcoal from Berger Brothers lately? I bought a 40 lb bag last summer (Nature Glow) and was very disappointed in what I got. Slow to light and many broken pieces and dust. Wasn't worth a damn. Are they still selling that brand and has the quality improved?

Yes, they still sell this brand.

Nature Glo is the food service version of Royal Oak. I complained last summer about the small pieces here. The size distribution that I've experienced seems similar to that in the Naked Whiz review. The next time I was at Berger Brothers I asked about the size of the pieces and the guy said this was pretty standard for Nature Glo; you get a lot of small pieces at the bottom of the bag. As AngrySarah said, you may have gotten a bag that was beaten up more than is typical.

I've cooked with it a lot now and, although I wish the pieces were larger, I've become quite satisfied with it, esp at the price.

I think they had a batch of bags that were beaten up for awhile last year, I bought a couple bags in early summer that had a lot more smaller chunks than usual. Since the fall I've been satisfied with the size of the chunks in the bags of Nature Glo that I've bought there. Last batch I bought (about 2 weeks ago) was fine. I've never had any problems with how they burn, just the size of the chunks.

Hi,

Today I drove to Chicago for a meeting with plans to collect some lump charcoal.

I came up empty handed at Berger Brothers. They have no lump charcoal. They ran out last week. It was suggested I go to Jewel or Home Depot for my lump charcoal. Not quite understanding what happened, I commented business must very good for them assuming they sold charcoal. I got the look like I was crazy.

It turns out their regular provider of those 40-pound bags of lump charcoal is not delivering. They are selling their charcoal to the retail stores. When I inquired when Berger may have lump from their regular source, they guessed it may be after the summer.

They are trying to locate another source for lump charcoal, but as of this morning had not identified a new vendor.

Call in advance before going to Berger Brothers to save yourself from disappointment. Of course, if they are back on track providing lump, please do tell!

They do have briquettes, though he knew that was not what I hoped for.

Regards,

A1 Country Firewood has great lump charcoal - as well as any and all smoking woods of all different sizes (from whole logs to chips/chunks). We've been dealing with them for our wood and charcoal for a few years now, and they are awesome. They have a retail yard that's open to the public - and they are just off the Ryan..

https://a1countryfirewood.com

Cathy2 wrote:I came up empty handed at Berger Brothers. They have no lump charcoal.

Weird, I bought Royal Oak lump charcoal Today, Friday 6.27.14, around noon at Berger Bros. both 20/lb bags and 8.8/lb bags, many multiples of each. I also bought, actually they gave me to try, a 15/lb bag of Lazzari mesquite lump.

They may have been out of 40/lb bags of lump charoal, but they most certainly had plenty of lump charcoal on hand.

G Wiv wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I came up empty handed at Berger Brothers. They have no lump charcoal.

Weird, I bought Royal Oak lump charcoal Today, Friday 6.27.14, around noon at Berger Bros. both 20/lb bags and 8.8/lb bags, many multiples of each. I also bought, actually they gave me to try, a 15/lb bag of Lazzari mesquite lump.

They may have been out of 40/lb bags of lump charoal, but they most certainly had plenty of lump charcoal on hand.

Hi,

He did mention the 40-pound bags being a problem. He only offered briquettes.

It could be the shortage is genuine, though he is keeping his favored customers stocked for as long as possible.

Since I buy lump once or twice a year, I am hardly the customer he needs to impress. I am happy he has stopped showing me a briquette and a piece of lump to verify I want lump. At least he finally respects I know what I want.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:It could be the shortage is genuine, though he is keeping his favored customers stocked for as long as possible

I wonder if the confusion is they thought you only wanted 40/lb bags. There was a pallet of 20/lb bags just outside of the warehouse entry in plain sight.

As Jared mentioned, A1 Country Firewood has lump as does Chicago Firewood, which is just around the corner from Berger Brothers at Division/Halsted.

If you plan on cooking this weekend and can't find lump you are welcome to call me for a loaner bag.

Chicago Firewood
1300 N. Halsted (Rear Lot)
Chicago, IL
312-335-9696

Hi,

Thanks for the offer. I am fine for the moment.

I rarely get into Chicago on a weekday during business hours with a car, I thought this was a great intersection of events. I guess he assumed it was 40-pounds or nothing at all. He was really fast in redirecting me to Home Depot or Jewel. I will call on Monday morning to clarify.

Chicago Firewood has one substantial advantage, they are open on Saturday until 3 pm today. I just called, a 40-pound bag of lump was quoted at $25.

Thanks!

Regards,

Chicago Firewood has one substantial advantage, they are open on Saturday until 3 pm today. I just called, a 40-pound bag of lump was quoted at $25.

One disadvantage - the guys at Chicago Firewood are A**holes...sorry, the owner just is...the latino yard guy is friendly/great - but the guy that used to deliver to us was always a jerk so I stopped giving them my business.

A1 is a group of friendly BBQ guys, 2 brothers and a friend that have owned the business for 20 years.

A big advantage to A1 is that they are BBQ guys - they can talk shop and know their wood(s). The guys at Chicago firewood will sell you whatever is in the stack that day, at most sorting it by species...the guys at A1 know how old the wood is, difference between red/white oak - offer custom services i.e. splits/whole logs/mix, etc. Almost every top restaurant (that cooks with wood) in Chicago (and Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin) is using these guys now. Chicago Q, Green St., Girl & Goat, 3 Floyds, Acadia, Perennial Virant, Original Famous Dave's in Hayward, WI, Bells, Greenbush just to name a few - most of them switched over from Chicago Firewood in the past couple years because their product is just better, and they really know their wood...

Another wonderful thing I've just started using (At A1) is their kiln dried woods. Kiln drying is heating wood up to about 165 degrees in a giant oven, usually done to kill bugs so the wood can be placed inside retail stores. The unintentional byproduct of fresh (green/not seasoned) kiln dried wood is the perfect smoking product - wood that is dry and burns fast on the outside, but is full of natural moisture on the inside. Throw a kiln dried piece of wood in your smoker - it will ignite quickly, and burn perfectly. The natural moisture inside the wood cooks off as it burns and produces a good amount of humidity in your smoker. When I opened my pit doors the first time I used this product, it was like a sauna in my pit. Personally, I like to combine the kiln dried cherry with 6-9 months aged white oak....great for cooking' briskets, butts, or ribs...

They also ship a ton of fruit wood down to Texas, and they have been trying to get me some Post Oak here in Chicago to cook with - no one else around here sells Post Oak (a small, dense version of the white oak tree that is abundant in Texas, and the most popular BBQ wood down there).

Can't say enough good about these guys, maybe I'll start them their own thread...

A1 Country Firewood
https://a1countryfirewood.com