[Stevie]

I too only measure at bottling or transferring to a keg. I let my beers ride for 4 weeks most of the time. If it's not done then, something else is up and I'll hold off if I'm afraid.

[archstanton]

The OG was 1.057 and I ill take a reading when I am about to bottle, I dont like to open the fermenter up. i am shooting for a FG: 1.019

if you don't take a reading until you bottle how do you know your done before bottling? it might be fine 9 out of 10 times but that 10th time could be a big mess with exploding bottles. the only time I've had bottle bombs the beer had spent two or three months in primary. but it was stalled and hadn't finished. I finally got impatient and bottled only to have fermentation start up again in the bottle.

you should get over your fear of opening the fermenter. nothing is going to jump in there and ruin the beer and you can't know what's going on in there without measuring.

to paraphrase Denny, if you can't take a gravity reading without infecting your beer, perhaps you should take up knitting.

He said as he is about to bottle. I too do this, if the gravity reading is not where it should be the packaging does not happen. Now my odds have been - well 100% perfect since I quit taking readings until packaging a few years ago. Of course with a new yeast or big beers or something I want to make notes on I will certainly take a few readings. If I thought there was an issue, I would check it. Otherwise, I will be more than happy just waiting until packaging.

[HoosierBrew]

I too only measure at bottling or transferring to a keg. I let my beers ride for 4 weeks most of the time. If it's not done then, something else is up and I'll hold off if I'm afraid.

I let beers go for 3 or 4 weeks before kegging too, and usually do this as well. But if it's a strain I haven't used or am thoroughly familiar with, I'm more cautious. But I've used enough 1056 and a few others over the years to know where a given grist/mash temp should finish. If it's not pretty much right there, I wait.

[mmuniz276]

Yea I never said i don't take readings, I just dont open it every week of my three weeks its fermenting. I open it up when I am about to bottle if its not there ( which has happened before due to little to cold in the ferm chamber then it stays in longer.) I have not seen much active lately, am goin on two weeks so its slowed alot. I might bump the temp up three or so degrees till Wednesday  and then I cold crash it till Sat.