What are the three main steps involved in the lautering process?

The lautering process is a vital step in brewing that separates the liquid wort from the solid remains of the grain after mashing. The correct answer highlights the three main steps: mash out, recirculation, and sparging.

Mash out is the initial step where the temperature of the mash is raised to halt enzymatic activity, making the wort easier to extract from the mash bed. This step helps to ensure that sugars are not further broken down, preserving the desired profile of the wort.

Recirculation follows, during which the wort is drawn off and then returned to the top of the mash. This process clarifies the wort and helps to improve extraction efficiency by allowing finer particles to settle.

Finally, sparging involves rinsing the mash with hot water to extract as much fermentable sugar as possible from the grains. This step maximizes the volume and quality of the wort, which is crucial for effective fermentation.

In contrast, the other choices include steps that either do not fit within the lautering process or pertain to other stages in brewing. For instance, boiling and fermenting are part of the brewing cycle but occur after lautering, while concepts like vorlauf, cooling, and kegging relate to different parts of the brewing process altogether,