Dylan42 said:
Okay im a noob here. I have brewed four batches, and all but one have turned out bad. I lost one to a pinhole in my keg.
So my question in relation to racking to a secondary is, how long can the wort sit on that yeast cake in the primary? Will it start to get off flavors from the suspended yeast after ten days?
Yeast autolysis, the fancy term for dormant yeast dying off and decaying, takes months under normal conditions. In fact, I've heard tons of stories of forgotten carboys left for 6 months or more that made excellent beer. Off flavors from yeast are common, but NOT from being left too long on primary. Temperature control during fermentation is exponentially more important to beer flavor than how long you leave it in this or that vessel.
FACTS about transfer to secondary:
-the process takes time and equipment
-the process introduces possibility for infection or oxidation.
-the process removes the beer from a large percentage of trub and settled yeast.
THEORIES about transfer to secondary:
-removing the beer from settled yeast and trub helps it clear.
-prevents off flavors from decaying yeast (autolysis) and trub.
-is "required" for post ferment additions for things like dry hops, fruit or oak.
Many many debates exist on this topic. You ultimately must decide for yourself. My personal opinion is that the vast majority of home brewers mess with their beer WAY too much. Keep the yeast happily temperature controlled, and LEAVE IT ALONE!!!! When you think it's ready, wait another week. This advice will improve your beer more than a secondary...