Official Finishing Times

how do i know when a beer is completely fermented?
airlock not bubbling?
flashlight to the back side of carboy and look for yeast bubbles ?
my first three beers have been great and i do the flash light technique but im getting into hg beers and they have longer ferment times .
should i just go off of both?

I also want to drink the beer as soon as possible ...

None of those things. I generally give the average gravity beer two weeks before I take an FG sample. This shows me how close it is to finished according to projected FG range. When it test the same numbers a couple days apart,it's at Fg & I give it 3-7 days more to clean up fermentation by products & settle out clear or slightly misty.

smonteton said:

how do i know when a beer is completely fermented?
airlock not bubbling?
flashlight to the back side of carboy and look for yeast bubbles ?
my first three beers have been great and i do the flash light technique but im getting into hg beers and they have longer ferment times .
should i just go off of both?

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All of those are good signs. However, they can be misleading. I would periodically take a gravity reading to see how close it is getting to your expected FG.

So im getting the same answer 3 times final gravity is the official time of finishing if it stays constant for a couple of days it is finished.

It is finished fermenting but not done yet. I have had beers finish fermenting within a week but not clear up for 2 weeks.

smonteton said:

So im getting the same answer 3 times final gravity is the official time of finishing if it stays constant for a couple of days it is finished.

Click to expand...

No,when you get the same hydrometer reading 2 days apart it's at FG. Then give it 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty.