Brewer’s Best 5694 8 Gallon Basic Kettle w/Two Ports Brewing Equipment, Stainless Steel, 8 Gallon

This kettle is very well made and is exactly what I needed for cooking 20lbs of grain at a time. You will need to purchase a thermostat and a valve or plug for the bottom (depending on what way you want to go). Other reviews mentioned the "suggested items" valve does not fit. That valve comes with many different options for installation and I can confirm 100% that it screws right in!

This is the best bang for the buck in brew kettles. One caveat is that the markings are not 100% accurate, but they are off by exactly .25gallons, so when you have 6gallons of water in the kettle it only reads 5.75. I verified this by weighing the water (8.345lbs/gal) I added and comparing to the markings on the kettle. But every kettle I’ve ever owned was off, at least this kettle is off on every measurement by .25gallons.

Very good product, nicely made, will definitely buy again.

When I unpacked the pot I noticed the handle was bent in, the spot welding had popped. Looks like it had not been welded hardly at all, see pic. Handles appear to be flimsy not sure I would want to carry a full pot with them.

Product seems solid. The ported welds do not leak after testing. It appears that it will do the job despite a few issues. Packaging needs work as I had a large dent in the kettle as others have said. The welds for handle need work. The handle for the lid was unattached and left two holes in the lid rendering it useless. Makes we wonder how long the side handles will hold up. Looking at the packaging I’m surprised this is all the damage I had. Luckily I think I can salvage it and I have no faith buying another one will be any better. But buyer beware.

I received the brewers pot. I did not open this right away. I wanted to wait until the holidays when I would have plenty of time on my hands. I finally got to open the package the pot came in. It was shipped a box in a box. Both boxes were shipped clean, meaning no noticeable dings, crush marks, etc... I pulled the second box from the first and opened it pulling the pot from it. First thing I noticed was the dent marks on the side of the pot. Looking at both boxes again, particularly on the side of the pot that was dented in, they seemed fine. So now I question... was this shipped as a seconds? I pounded out the dents with my fist getting the pot back into shape. then I notice that this is a 14 gallon pot not the advertised 16 gallon. Still usable for my needs but not what was advertised or what I paid for. Hopefully this help you making your decision on this purchase.

I’ve used my kettle now for 3 different brew sessions. I’ve been very happy with the weight, thickness and heating time. It’s a good buy.

Item was received as expected.