HSA is not a myth. Neither is autolysis.
Perhaps it's less common than it used to be, but it's not a myth.
A "myth" means a fable, something that isn't true. HSA is real, although not likely. Autolysis is real, although not likely in a reasonable amount of time in a homebrew setting.
I hear all the time on this forum that both are myths- but they aren't.
On the homebrew scale, HSA is a nonfactor.
On the homebrew scale, autolysis is a nonfactor.
I see these posted time and time again as boogeymen to be scared of. I could pull up revvy's HSA thread, along with the various citations and sources, but that's the kind of thing that should go in the article, no?
Autolysis is mentioned all the time, as well, with the "old wisdom" of racking your beer the moment it hits terminal gravity. That's totally unnecesary. Lots of brewers leave their beer on the yeast cake for weeks - sometimes months - with no ill effects. So on the homebrew scale, yeah, it's a myth.
I agree that "aging fixes everything" is a silly myth that needs to die.
Who pushes this myth? Age will fix some flaws due to brewing process. It won't fix anything close to "everything", and odds are, the beer would have been better had the "fix" never been needed.
Sheesh, Yooper. This feels like the "well, actually..." derails we get in the "funny things overheard" thread from time to time.