Thanks for sharing. I will have to see what they have at my LHBS for ingredients and start gathering things up.
Although I boiled on my stove for many moons, currently I do it outside. This keeps the house from smelling of malt for the following week, which Mrs. WM81 much appreciates.
If you have a heat source, a stable base, and a stainless steel pot that is large enough, you're set for boiling. Mine is marketed for beer and large soup or stew making (party size), and connects to a propane tank -- I simply disconnect from my grill and connect to the burner built into the base.
Watch for boiling over, as it makes a HUGE mess that is a royal PITA to clean up. I keep a large glass of cold water handy to prevent an overflow, although the huge pot I have for outside boiling makes it easier to avoid. As with fermenting wine, don't fill the pot more then 3/4 full.
Aging beer totally depends on the beer, and somewhat on the method. I do 2 stage beer, meaning that once fermentation completes, I rack to a carboy and let it settle for 2 weeks. Then rack, add sugar for carbonation, and bottle. From there the beer needs a minimum of 2 weeks in the bottle to carbonate.
One advantage of 2 stage is the beer is a bit clearer and there is very little sediment in each bottle.
For lighter ales, I find 4 to 6 weeks in the bottle is sufficient aging for the beer to be good, and for best results, use up in 6 to 9 months. As beer ages it loses bitterness and gets malty. The lifespan of a beer will depend on how bitter you make the beer and your liking for bitterness vs maltiness.
The chocolate peanut butter porter I posted was good for about a year. It would have lasted longer, had I made a larger batch. Maybe 1-1/2 years.
Watching doesn't help the process either. 
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