How do you know when fermentation is finished?

[Cenosillica]

I've started experimenting with my own recipes; I always make a yeast starter to get the party started. My beers always have a raging fermentation and the gravity never seems to change after a week of fermentation. This has happened with my last three beers.

How many days do you check for FG readings to determine your fermentation process has finished? Seems that if you wait 3-5 days and the gravity readings remain unchanged, you should be ready to go right? Other than letting it sit and finish out for a while, I'm thinking I can forego that and keg condition the flavor since I'm not concerned about interrupting the fermentation any longer.

Does that sound about right? If gravity readings drop substantially within a week and don't change for a few days/weeks, how long do you wait before bottling or kegging?

 

[KuntyBrew]

i usually wait 3 weeks then take a reading for three days in a row if the are the same then bottle. I know that most ofthe fermentation is already done but it lets it clean up and clear good