Real-Life Math -- Solution
Possible answers to our barley problems include:
Part
A
For this particular malt, the soaked barley should weigh 40
percent more than the dry barley. You have 10 pounds of dry barley:
10
lb. = 100 percent, so how much is 40 percent?
10 lb. x 0.4 = 4
pounds
10 + 4 = 14 pounds
The soaked barley
should weigh 14 lb.
Part B
This soaking process usually
takes 40 hours, but you have read that some people soak the kernels for 72
hours. You want to experiment, so you are going to soak for the longer period.
72
/ 8 = 9
You'll have to change the water 9 times
with the new time period.
The tough part is over. All you have to do
now is taste the brew!
A brewmaster needs to be comfortable with using
math.
"We do pretty simple math here, but I do math," says brewmaster
Mike Kelly. "What I do on a day-to-day basis is really simple algebra.
"Any 13-year-old can do it, but anybody who says that they don't need math,
or they shouldn't study math, I just don't think they get it," Kelly adds.
"I don't think they understand what education is about. It's about learning
and about developing your ability to solve problems, and when I have someone
who can't solve problems, they're almost useless, and so math is a good way
to be able to solve those problems."
A lot of the math used by brewmasters
is about calculating ratios like knowing how much water to add, or how much
CO2 to add. And you might have to calculate budgets and the cost of equipment
and raw materials.
"I don't think calculus is really
necessary for this type of stuff," says Kelly. "And some brewers just rely
on programs -- you can buy software to help figure it out."