Quick Tip: Go for the Full Boil

Let's say you've got a hole burning in your pocket for some new brewing equipment. If that is the case, one of the first things you should invest in is a boil kettle big enough for a full boil. Partial boils are a good way to start out, but they lend themselves to that "extract twang," which is actually caramelization caused concentrating the wort in a smaller kettle. Going for the full boil will greatly increase the quality of your homebrew. Of course, this means that you'll need to acquire a wort chiller at the same time because you cannot cool five gallons of beer with an ice bath very easily.