Racking

  Siphons are no more than gravity-fed pumps. Siphoning is an easy, essential and fun part of home brewing. It's the way of getting your brew from one container to another while leaving the sediment behind. It's all a part of helping your brew to clear itself.

  It is very important to make sure the container you are siphoning from is higher than the container that you are siphoning into, to take advantage of the gravity feed. This way the liquid can flow faster and steadier since it's going downhill. If you lift the end of the siphon above the height of the liquid, the flow will stop.

  There are various ways of starting your siphon. Following are several examples:

*  Suck on one end of the hose while the other end is in your brew. When it passes approximately the two-thirds mark in the siphon hose, quickly take it out of your mouth and point the siphon into the receiving vessel. With this method you have to be careful of getting harmful bacteria into your brew.

* If you are afraid of sucking on the siphon or concerned about bacteria, another method is to fill your siphon hose full of water with as little air bubbles as possible. (If there is an air bubble where the tubing joins the racking tube, gently squeeze the siphon tubing above the air bubble and it should force it out.) Then put your finger over one end of the hose, effectively trapping an entire hose full of water. Now put the unstopped end (the end you're not holding) into your brew. Now when you let go of the end you are holding the water should begin rushing out. After the water is out, the brew should follow right behind. REMEMBER: if you don't want this extra water in your brew, pour it somewhere else until the brew starts flowing. If you don't want to use water, use a glass or baster to fill the tubing with some of your brew first.

* Another method is to use a plastic carboy cap if you are siphoning out of your carboy. It snaps on with a double spout. One spout accommodates the racking tube and siphon hose, while you blow into the other one to start the siphon.

* If you have an electric filter system, you can use your electric pump and the plastic carboy cap. Plug in the electric pump. This will create air pressure in your carboy, forcing the brew into the other container.

*  You can also use an auto-siphon. With this method you connect the auto-siphon to your siphon hose and submerge the end of the auto-siphon into your brew. Pump the inner tube of the auto-siphon up and down approximately 6 inches to start the siphon.

Whichever method you use ALWAYS rinse the siphon tube with water and sanitize before and after use. Otherwise, you risk introducing bacteria into everything you siphon.