Welcome to the Orchid Board. As a Phal Phreak I'm quite happy to see your happy Phalaenopsis!
As Fishmom said, the old stem is dead. That's absolutely normal, so nothing you've done has caused it. It's fine to cut it back to about 1 inch from the base. Even though it's dead, please use sterile practices when cutting! However, with the way your stem is growing sideways (also perfectly fine) you may need to eventually do something to counterbalance the weight of the stem and flowers, though it's possible that the glazed pot the plant is in will be heavy enough to do the job.
Once a flower spike has finished blooming, some immediately cut the spike back while others leave them. Those who cut them will take the stem back to about an inch, then seal it off with a dusting of cinnamon powder. Again as Fishmom said, Phalaenopsis spikes can produce new stem branches on older stems. It will come from the very last node before where the first flower appeared in most cases.
With young plants, especially seedlings, I personally prefer to cut stems on plants which produce taller spikes once the flowers fade. The reason for growers doing so is that without the stem and the drive to produce flowers the plant can focus energy on new leaf and root production. Once a plant is mature, though, I like to allow the plant to just do what it wants, and if what it wants is to rebloom then I let it. In fact, right now I have a Phal. Fuller's Sunset with one spike on its third blooming, a second spike on a second blooming, and a new spike with its first flowers, and the plant has now been in continuous bloom for just over a year; in that time it's also produced two huge leaves and about a million roots. In my opinion your plant looks both mature enough and healthy enough that, were it my plant, I'd leave the stem on until, like your old one, it browns, to give the plant the opportunity to rebloom.
Yours, by the way, looks like a very healthy plant! You've obviously been keeping it quite happy. Good growing!
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