Fermentation questions

[Lynxpilot]

Just brewed my first ever batch on 7/11 and it's in the fermenter now. It's a Shiner Bock clone recipe kit from AHB. The kit recommends pitching at something under 80, slowly reducing temp to 50-55F for 10 days, diacetyl rest at 60-70F for 2 days, then transfering to secondary to lager at 40F for 3-4 weeks.

I get the impression on this forum that secondary really isn't necessary (to most people). Can I just leave it in the fermenter and still run the lagering temp profile or am I supposed to ignore secondary anything and just go right to bottling?

Is there a down side to leaving it in the original fermenter?

The fermenter is a stainless conical with temperature control and I've been dumping trub regularly.

On a side note, I exceeded numbers on OG and current gravity with respect to FG, so really pleased with the recipe kit. Grainfather conical with glycol chiller working like a charm. Tilt and raspberry PI are way cool. Brewzilla 3.1.1 was a champ. First ever brew day, never even seen it done before, and I was done and cleaned up in less than 4 hours. Did a double batch of ale 2 days later for the large fermenter. Now that day was some work.

Thanks to members on here for having posted valuable information. I've been scouring the forum for a couple weeks now.

 

[Beholder]

With a conical, no transfer is needed. You can simply dump your trub through the bottom port and bob’s your uncle. One of the selling features of a conical.

It’s the transfer part that’s been deemed more trouble than value, but the lagering will definitely improve your beer with aging to smooth the flavor profile.

Congrats on the first brew and well done on the equipment you’ve got for batch #1. Just bear in mind it’s the user of the equipment that is key, so take notes as you go and refine your process if there’s anything in the glass you’d like to change, you’ll be able to start tweaking and honing your process…

 

[Lynxpilot]

@Beholder Thanks!