I just got this new brew kettle from midwest supplies . I discovered that it has an indentation on the bottom. Not a lot, but enough that there's not much contact with my flat glass stove top. Is there anything I can do besides getting another kettle?

is it supposed to be that way or was it damaged? if it was damaged i would try to return it and get another. if it's supposed to come that way, you can try various forms of insulation to try and get it up to boiling. that or propane.

It's not damaged, a couple of inches in from the walls there is a slight raise. I didn't notice it until I had the water in the pot and trying to boil for quite a while. Once I moved the pot a bit and the outside rim made better contact with the burner, I got a very slight boil.

What would you suggest for insulation?

I used reflectix with good results. i'm not using it to boil though, only for keeping mash temps.

do a search for insulation on homebrewtalk.com and you will get lots of info. best of luck!! you still may try talking to them about a return, they seem to be pretty good about that. You may get stuck with shipping BUT it's cheaper than a pot that doesn't work right?

well that sucks. Did the pot come with a cover? Did you try getting a boil with the cover on?

Before my brewery got kicked outside the house I was making 5 gallon brews on the stove top. I used to put the cover on halfway to get my boil going.

You could ask about a return but if you have to pay shipping to return a $27 pot it may not be worth it.

If High_Iron's suggestion with the lid doesn't work, you can always try wrapping it up in aluminum foil. You can just wrap your pot with it...not even tightly, just make a big, aluminum foil wrap that lets as little air through as possible (but leaves a tiny amount of airspace between the foil and the pot. The air will provide insulation, and the aluminum foil will reflect heat back.

Those glass top stoves cycle on and off so not ideal for brewing.
Back when I was doing MB batches I had trouble boiling 2+ gallons
on mine.

Yes, the lid is your friend when it comes to heating water/wort (I have a glass stovetop, as well). I keep the lid fully on when heating to strike temp - makes a big difference. I also keep it fully on till I reach a boil, else it would never(?) get there. Once boiling, I partially cover the pot to maintain a good boil.

Besides a partially covered pot during boil, a hop sack (paint strainer bag) helps greatly to maintain a boil, trapping heat. One brewer would also use a splash screen to trap heat, but allow nasties to escape.

A good read, if interested:
"No matter how efficient an appliance is, the cook can help simply by covering pots and pans with their lids. Some of the heat that enters through the bottom of the pot exits through the top, but a lid prevents much of it from escaping into the air. This is especially true when you’re bringing a pot of water to the boil. With the lid on, it will start bubbling in as little as half the time. Turning water into steam takes a lot of energy, and every molecule that flies away from the water surface takes all that energy with it into the air. Prevent its escape, and the energy stays with the pot to heat the rest of the water."
The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen

At what point did your brewery get kicked out of the house? My wife has already commented several times "ooh, that's stinky.." when I've been boiling wort with cluster or northern brewer hops.

Soon after I went AG. Wife didn't like the smell so now I brew in the backyard on a turkey fryer. I actually like it better. Boil overs aren't as big of a deal and cleanup is a snap.