How bad is this?

[nikkimac1027]

I have read that when transferring your fermented beer from the primary to the secondary- if you splash it around vs. gently transferring, you will end up with not as good of a beer. why is this so?

I just realized that i took my first brew and did that (poured it aggressively) so on my next brew, i did the auto siphon so it was gentle.

I like my first brew, but could it be better if i was gentle?

 

[Yooper]

If you aggressively splash after primary fermentation begins, it will oxidize your beer. What that means is you will get a "cardboard" flavor to your beer, particularly as it ages. A good example is sherry- that's oxidized wine. Sherry-like flavors are also caused by oxidation. If you drink it young, it's usually not a problem.