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Use a chlorine bleach solution (pretty good) or iodophor (better) to sanitize anything which will touch your beer after it's cooler than about 160°F (70°C).
Use only non-porous equipment, e.g., use a stainless steel spoon instead of a wooden one, because it's nearly impossible to sanitize the porous wood.
Also, replace your racking hoses on a regular basis, using only those made with food-grade plastic.
This will avoid yeast autolysis (can you say "burnt rubber?"), which is a nasty habit yeast have of eating dead yeast cells when all fermentable sugar has been consumed.
In the case of ales which are fermented at room temperature, either rack to a secondary fermenter, or go ahead and bottle it.
This rule is a bit more flexible with lagers which are fermented at cooler temperatures, as the yeast are less active and fermentation proceeds at a slightly more leisurely pace. Still, it's best to rack when the specific gravity of the wort has dropped about 75% of its original value. For example, a wort with a specific gravity of 1.052 should be racked to a secondary fermenter when it reaches 1.013 (25% of 52), or when fermentation seems to have ceased.
Wort which is not quickly chilled is susceptible to increased DMS (dimethyl sulfide) content, which has the taste of creamed corn, not to mention that a slowly-chilled wort might become host to thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria before the yeast can begin fermentation.
If you're boiling the all of the typical 5 gallons of wort, it becomes nearly imperative to use some method of force-chilling your wort, either with an immersion or a counterflow chiller. The instructions for making these are outside the scope of this Web page, but cast around and you'll find something to guide you.
For partial boils, you can immerse the brew pot into a sink of cold water, keeping both wort and water in motion (be sure to use a sanitized spoon to stir the wort!). The wort should be cooled to below about 100°F (38°C) before pouring it into your fermenter. This accomplishes two things: it avoids the possibility of a cracked glass carboy (if that's what you're using as a fermenter), and allows the wort to become aerated as you pour into your fermenter.
Corn sugar (AKA dextrose or glucose) in quantities of more than about 20% of your fermentables by weight can cause a marked taste and aroma of cider to your beer.
In addition, except for certain styles of beer such as Belgian Ales where this is part of the flavor profile, avoiding the use of cane sugar (AKA sucrose or table sugar) is also recommended. Cane sugar also lends cidery taste and aroma to your brew. Forms of cane sugar include Belgian Candi Sugar.
This includes immediately sweeping up or wiping up any spilled grain, boiled-over wort, or other substance, and keeping the area around the boil pot clear of flammable materials (including your clothing!).
Always keep a pair of potholders handy, and before you pick op your brew pot (or anything else that's hot and/or heavy), make sure you have a place to set it back down at your destination.
A fire extinguisher is a good thing to keep around ALL the time, not just when you're brewing.
We want you to be around to brew for a long time! Be Careful!