When is primary fermentation complete?

[Rustyritz89]

I have done a few batches now and am making a pale ale Red Stripe spinoff. The airlock stops releasing CO2 and if I peek there is still foam atop the brew. This is different from my other batch of brown ale where there was no foam. Do I wait for the foam to recede before transferring to secondary fermentation container?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Skip the secondary and leave it in the primary the entire time. Your beer is not done.A safe bet is leaving it for 10 days and then start taking gravity readings.Even after you hit final gravity and your beer is essentially done you still want to let it rest a few more days for the yeast to clean up any off flavors you may get
An absolute bare minimum would be 2 weeks IF everything was done under perfect conditions, temp controlled fermentation,mash temp ETC..THe hardest part of homebrewing is patience..As hard as it is Forget about it for 2 weeks..Opening the bucket only ups your chances of introducing an infection and ruining your batch...FUGETABOUTIT

 

[Gavin C]

There is just fermentation. (not primary and secondary in this instance)

Wait till it's done then rack it to a secondary vessel (should you chose to use one).

It's done when the gravity is stable and unchanging. That is the final gravity (FG)

You can determine this with a hydrometer.

Visual clues are very useful though and save you the hassle of having to measure it all the time.

If there is CO2 being produced, if there is foam (krausen), if the beer is effervescent it's not done and leave it alone.

Do yourself a favor, ignore it for 2 weeks and then package it up in bottles.

Ignore it for 3 more weeks then stick some in your fridge and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

 

[Stillraining]

Skip the secondary and leave it in the primary the entire time. Your beer is not done.A safe bet is leaving it for 10 days and then start taking gravity readings.Even after you hit final gravity and your beer is essentially done you still want to let it rest a few more days for the yeast to clean up any off flavors you may get

+1 to all of that
I go 3 weeks and never bother taking gravity readings till actual bottle day. But I don't brew BIG beers either, so any risk of under attenuation is like the odds of winning power ball. All my beers are done, even the sweet chewy ones that end in the mid 20's.. They are sweet and chewy because of the grains I use not because of lingering fermentable sugars.