Hi Dakota I'm new to SMF and have only been smoking meat for a year now, but I use alder all the time. Red alder grows like a weed in my neck of the woods, so I can get all I want for free. Red alder is a tree, but some alders are more bush like, from what I've read. I use it on beef, pork, chicken and salmon. Its lighter flavoured than the hickory chips I've tried. I also read your post about your Grill-Pro because that what I use (same door issue), and was wondering what a AMS box is? Like I said I'm new here, but I'm interested in cold smoking.