what is autolysis

like i said. what is autolysis

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=autolysis
pretty much when the yeast start to eat each other.

Im pretty new at brewing but from what I have picked up, its generally a bad thing...
(sorry, I've been dying to use that link )

Autolysis happens when yeast have nothing left to eat, get bored, and resort to cannibalism. Unless you're planning on keeping beer on the yeast cake for more than 4-6 weeks, it's typically not an issue.

Yah, the yeasties start hanging shrunken yeast-heads outside their huts for decoration. Not a pretty picture.

so what's the bad effect what does it taste like?

and i love that link i am going to use that

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10-3.html

BTW, please don't use the "Let me Google that for you" link as a habit. It's obnoxious.

A quote from John Palmer online:

"When a yeast cell dies, it ruptures - releasing several off-flavors into the beer. When you have a large yeast mass on the bottom of the fermentor, you have a large potential for off-flavors due to autolysis. If this ever happens to you, you will know it. The smell is one you will never forget. It happened to me one time when my wife was making paper as a hobby. She used boiled rice as the glue to hold the shredded paper together. After the rice had been boiled until it became a paste, the paper making was called off that weekend and the pot of rice paste was set aside on the counter top. A wild yeast must have got a hold of it during the next couple days ( I remember it bubbling) and the pot was ignored in the days that followed. A busy week went by along with another busy weekend and the unintentional Sake experiment still sat there forgotten. The following weekend, my wife was once again ready to try making paper. I picked up the pot and lifted the lid to see what had happened to it. My knees buckled. My wife turned green and ran to the door coughing and choking. The stench was appalling! It was heinous! The noxious aftermath of a late night of cheap beer and pickled eggs would be refreshing compared to the absolute stench of autolysis. I hope I never have to smell it again."

Link: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10-3.html

Doh, Yuri is a faster draw than I am . . . .