I agree 100%. The thing about it that gets me is that people from both sides of the camp--no matter what the topic--are still brewing what they think is great beer. So that just proves that unless you violate the basic principles of brewing (you don't sanitize, or you try to dry hop with raw steak) the best way to learn what works and what doesn't is to try it both ways, and go with what you felt worked best.
People have been brewing since long before the internet* so there are definitely many tried and true methods. Still, there are many methods that have been around for hundreds of years that are directly opposite of other methods. Yet people still make what they think is great beer. So, yes, RDWHAHB.
*I read once that the original internet was the Tower of Babel. It grew out of control and god destroyed it. Now we are repeating the same event. ^
^This is completely not true--I just made it up.
As I've said before:
"Make your beer the way you want it to be made, do your own research and come to your own conclusions. At the same time, remember to heed the advice of the giants who's backs you stand on. That is how you grow your ability and become a great brewer.
You want to know if you should stop using a secondary? Stop using a secondary. You will know when you drink the beer if you made the right decision."
To this end, I no longer secondary my beer. I've found no tangible benefit from doing so. Less work is the reason I give. Sure you could infect your beer (bad sanitation on secondary vessel), you could introduce oxygen (poor racking technique), you could see some benefit from the secondary (more time to let the yeast settle, more time aging the beer, etc). All of this is true from anything we do. Racking to my keg could introduce O2 and or infect the beer. Racking to bottles the same.
So try it out and make an informed decision. My beer has only gotten better the more I brew, and I always make sure to try a new technique with each new batch. I've not found any 'tried and true' techniques to be bad be it fly vs batch vs brew in a bag, secondary vs no secondary, force carbing vs bulk priming, FWH/hop bursting vs traditional hoping, etc. The good sanitation, care in ingredient selection, and hitting my temps seems to make the best impacts on my beer. Everything else is about time, money, and personal preference.
To the OP's question. I say the 'simple' solution is to just wait 2-3 weeks, check the gravity for 2 days, if it's the same then you can either wait another week or rack to a secondary, it's your call. You don't need to do it before fermentation is complete because the racking will cause C02 to be released from the beer and push out a lot of O2. I've had to let some beers sit for 4 weeks before I racked to a secondary without any issue.
I'm by no means a expert, but I've learned to just be comfortable with the process that works for me. As long as I enjoy my beer I could care less if I'm brewing it wrong.
