There are alot of ways folks can clarify their brews these days. From inline 1-micron kits that you can pick up for less than $40 shipped from many sources all the way to a secondary transfer and good ol' time and temp...with gelatin, isinglass and untold other options in between.
The malt the vast majority of us use these days has a higher percentage of fermentable sugars than barley from decades ago. Doesn't stop folks from doing decoctions tho (well it does stop most of us)
The best takeaway is that the greater number of options on multiple fronts allows all of us to take our version of the hobby as far as we need to go.
In the past, with the material available at the time, a secondary was likely necessary to have a decently clear beer with a reasonable turnaround time, with notes added during maturation, however short. It's likely not necessary now. But "necessity" is always in the eye of the beholder when it comes to fermentation.
The malt the vast majority of us use these days has a higher percentage of fermentable sugars than barley from decades ago. Doesn't stop folks from doing decoctions tho (well it does stop most of us)
The best takeaway is that the greater number of options on multiple fronts allows all of us to take our version of the hobby as far as we need to go.
In the past, with the material available at the time, a secondary was likely necessary to have a decently clear beer with a reasonable turnaround time, with notes added during maturation, however short. It's likely not necessary now. But "necessity" is always in the eye of the beholder when it comes to fermentation.