Tall Boy 8 gallon kettle and Dark Star propane burner

Tall Boy 8 gallon kettle and Dark Star propane burner.

Increased boil volume, as they say.  You can get by with a 5 gallon (minimum) kettle.  If you have a gas stove, you probably will be OK.  But, for me... nope.  No such luck.  Stove is not to be trusted to hold a boil on this puppy.  So, the answer is to use a propane burner.  Welcome Dark Star.  Torch it up!!!

8 gallons.  Whoah.  Oh, ya.  That's a big kettle.  If you use a 5 gallon kettle, you boil approximately 3 gallons of liquid, then make up the rest with cold fresh water when going into the fermenter.  We need a total of 5 gallons in the end.  A better method is to boil the full volume.  Start with about 6 gallons, to account for boil off, and we get a much better end product.  To give some extra room in case there is some boil over, always use a larger kettle.  20% or so --  which gives us the 8 gallon Tall Boy.