Real-Life Math
You often spend time at the brewery experimenting with new beers,
trying to create the perfect brew. This afternoon, you're making a new type
of malted beer. You tie on your apron, clean off the counters and pull out
your recipe.
Part A
The first step in the malting process
is to soak the barley. You are trying to increase its water content. For this
particular malt, the soaked barley should weigh 40 percent more than the dry
barley.
If you have 10 pounds of dry barley, how much will the soaked
barley weigh when it has the required water content?
Part B
This
soaking process usually takes 40 hours, but you have read that some people
soak the kernels for 72 hours. You're going to experiment soaking for the
longer period. You must change the water every 8 hours during this process.
How many more times are you going to have to change the water for the 72 hours
than you do for your normal 40-hour soaking period?
The barley has
soaked, and now you spread it out to dry. This process takes 8 to 15 days.
Once the barley has sprouted, it is put in a kiln to dry at low heat. Finally
the barley is cured in a hot environment.
After several days the barley
is cured and you are ready to go to the next step of creating a new type of
malt. But did you soak the barley correctly?