Fermentation times for an Ale

Hi,

A friend an I are checking into the aspects of doing a nano brewery in country (Dominican Republic) we'll be starting with 500L batches and we're only doing Ales, what we're trying to figure out is the fermentation and carbonation times

I've read that 7 days for both is enough. We're going to start with a Amber Ale and a Porter.

We're gonna start with an Amber Ale

OG: 1.044
FG: 1.011
IBU: 20
ABV: 4.4 +-

help really appreciated
Thanks!

You could easily hit fg in 4 days, then with a sterile filter carbonate in about half an hour.

However... if your question is how quickly can you turn round a properly conditioned beer, then that's an entirely different answer.

Most of my beers are 8 weeks from grain to glass. 4 weeks in primary to ferment, clear and condition, and 3-4 weeks when at 70 degrees to carb and bottle condition. Sometimes longer.

Even when racking to a secondary, which I rarely do, I recommend folks take their first grav reading on day 12 and the second on day 14 and then rack for a minimum of another two weeks.....

You can't really control how long a beer takes to carb and condition in the bottle, 3 weeks at 70 seems to be the average MINIMUM for normal strength beers in 12 ounce bottles.

I've found great beer is not a race, but a game of patience, and that time is the brewers friend....

I don't know how relevant that info is in a commercial setting. I think the "big-ger boys" go from grain to glass in a shorter period of time. Something about being able to ferment warmer due to the higher pressure in their fermentors.

We wont be bottling conditioning since we're going for 500L batches (we want a sort of Nano Brewery)

We read somewhere about 10 days, 7 fermenting and 3 conditioning

Honestly I have doubts about your schedule. 7 days fermenting and 3 days conditioning doesn't seem like it would be enough time. Sure you'll make beer, but will it just be really green? You might be able to do a two week turnaround if you're brewing low gravity ales and kegging but I have my doubts.

This sounds like a can't-miss proposition.

14 days grain to glass is more realistic. I have had many 7- and 10-day turnaround beers from microbreweries that still tasted green.

5-7 days active fermentation

2 days hanging out (diacetyl rest if need be)

7 days cold crash/carbonating.

Done.

Pitch the proper amount of healthy yeast and ferment at the temperatures best designed for your system (this will vary on commercial setups, homebrewers want to shoot for the lower end of the spectrum) and you shouldn't have to worry about your beer being "green." At least in my experience. I like to prevent off-flavors rather than having to age them out.

Yes, higher gravity beers may need additional conditioning time.

Great feedback I think PseudoChef comment is the one that fits us best.
Thanks!