Hamrforge: Doing things the heavy duty way
“The difference between pellets and real wood is huge for the flavor,” Shawn Bevins of Hamrforge said.
The creator and businessman behind Hamrforge was talking to La Presse newspaper about the legendary heavy duty barbecue brand.
Hamrforge creates big, hard-use outdoor grills. The combination barbecue-smoker grills weigh up to 1,200 pounds in some cases. The real wood that powers the grill creates an incredible final product.
Possibly the most impressive among all the Hamrforge meat-cookers is The Beast, a mammoth piece of matte black hardware that will intimidate any neighbour peering over the fence.
“The Beast is like a monument in the backyard,” Bevins told the newspaper. And he’s right.
Coming up close to it in person is like coming in contact with a beautiful steel spaceship. It’s like an XXL smoker designed for a sasquatch at the controls rather than a mere human. Even the wheels are massive and beautiful.
Let’s pause and consider some of The Beast’s characteristics. The Chassis and wheel base are designed for easy loading and unloading into a pickup truck using ATV loading ramps and a 12V winch. The cook box and firebox are made from ¼ inch thick american-made steel offering unparalleled temperature stability. It comes with ¼ thick mild steel grate, and it accepts up to three grates.
But that’s not all.
Shop The Beast here at House of BBQ Experts
The Beast comes with dual smoke stacks for increased flow. Because of its highly efficient thermal heat retention, it actually consumes up to 50 percent less wood than similar sized traditional offset smokers. It’s reverse flow design offers better and more even temperature stability while offering a unique smoke signature. And finally, Hamrforge sealed the lid and front door with industrial grade nomex fireproof felt and fibreglass seals for air-tight, no leak operation.
Bevins made machines like The Beast for people who want more in their grilling life. “We made our product for enthusiasts for whom their current device is no longer enough,” he says.
Everything, said Bevins, has a function in The Beast. This is not something that Hamrforge simply screwed together.
The ventilation hatches work thanks to a rack system which allows a very precise adjustment, analyzed by calculating the air flow dynamic. Also, the metal acts as a true thermal mass because the steel walls are a quarter of an inch thick. This helps ensure a constant temperature while allowing to consume half as much wood.
Let’s talk design
Design also plays a huge role in the making of a Hamrforge grill. Bevins, a former tool and die maker for an automotive supplier in Windsor, Ontario, says he made each product down to the last detail.
“In the United States, they don’t have the same approach as us, they don’t have the attention to detail, they lack engineering,” he told the newspaper. “We’re strong in design and we wanted to develop something that stood out.”
Hamrforge now boasts four flagship products, including The Beast. Old Iron Sides is a combination charcoal BBQ/reverse-flow smoker. El Padre is a massive charcoal fire pit. And finally, the Double Barrel Barrel is a 55-gallon barrel smoker.
But that’s not all. Remember Bevins spoke about his preference for real wood over pellets? That doesn’t mean Hamrforge won’t try their hand at a premium, heavy-duty pellet smoker.
“We are nevertheless going to develop a pellet smokehouse that will be beyond anything that is currently being done,” Bevins told the newspaper.
Wow. We can’t wait for it.
Source: La Presse
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