Racking your beer is simply the term used for transferring your beer from one container to another.  The reason people do this is to remove the beer off the top of what we call trub.  Trub is the yeast, hops, break material and other stuff produced during fermentation.  For any given batch you are going to rack the beer at least twice. 

1. When racking from primary to secondary fermenter.
2. When racking from secondary to bottling bucket/keg.

 

When racking from your primary you want to be sure you have reached (or have come within .005 points of your finishing gravity).

 

What you are going to need is a racking cane and some tubing.  I used a simple racking cane for years and finally bought a Fermtech auto siphon and it was the best $10 I ever spent so if you don't have one go buy one and make your life 100 times easier.

Using a simple racking cane (from How To Brew)

 

When racking or bottling, you cannot start a siphon by sucking on it or you will contaminate and sour the batch with bacteria from your mouth.

 

 

All parts of the siphon (racking cane, tubing, and cutoff valve or bottle filler) need to be sanitized, especially the inside. After sanitizing, leave the siphon full of sanitizer and carefully place the racking cane in your beer. Release the clamp/valve or your clean-and-sanitized thumb and allow the sanitizer to drain into a jar. Make sure the outlet is lower than the fermenter, or you will drain the sanitizer into your beer.

 

As the sanitizer drains, it will draw the beer into the siphon and you can stop and transfer the outlet to your bottling bucket or bottles. Thus you can siphon without risk of contamination.

Fermtech Auto-Siphon   First place your beer on a counter and your SANITIZED carboy on the floor.     With one stroke of your sanitized auto-siphon you will start the siphon.  I always keep the lid resting on the top of the bucket and some aluminum foil on the top of the carboy to help keep any nasties out.   When siphoning remember to keep the hose on the bottom of the receiving vessel and avoid any splashing!  What you are trying to avoid is adding oxygen/air into the beer.  Also keep the siphon on the bottom of the primary fermenter and avoid moving the siphon.  Remember we are trying to leave the bottom 1/2 inch of trub on the bottom of the fermenter and moving it around will disturb the trub and suck it up.