I've seen around here and in other sources that for homebrewers a secondary fermentation (concerning autolysis) isn't necessary, unless you're going to dry hoppy or something like that. My question is about autolysis when reusing yeast. When one storage an used yeast for several months, or over several batches, is it needed to be careful with autolysis? Generally people says that a starter would be enough to get the right amount of live cells and therefore autolysis isn't a problem. …

I am doing my first batch with a yeast starter. I harvested yeast from a commercial Belgian trappist ale, built it up for a couple of days, cold-crashed it, decanted off the majority of the mini-wort and am getting ready to pitch it. Sadly, I'm realizing that the size of my starter isn't what I was hoping for. I'm wanting to do a bigger beer than this meager amount of yeast will get rolling. So, I'm about to throw caution …

We have brewed a number of ales, but recently tried our hand at a pilsner. After 8 days of fermenting at around 52 degrees F, we brought the pilsner up for a 2-day diacetyl rest at around 68 degrees. At this point we proved our inexperience by moving the carboy back into the cooler to crash without racking over. Unsurprisingly, we discovered off flavors, most notably strong diacetyl, when we were preparing to rack over into kegs to serve. What …

We are about to undergo a 55 gallon brew as a club, to be added to an oak barrel to be a solera. Is autolysis enough of a concern to primary ferment in glass and rack into the barrel? As a secondary question, how and when do you remove yeast sediment from the barrel when you're continually (periodically) adding new wort?