Today in 1918, US Patent 1271269 A was issued, an invention of Louis Block, for his “Manufacture of Non-Alcoholic Malt Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

acter to that known in the art as lager beer with the difference that What I now refer to as malt beer shall contain no alcohol or only a very small percentage thereof, while its nutritious and refreshing qualities are practically the same as that of lager beer. I shall now describe the process of manufacture so that others versed in the art may understand and follow it. The first steps in my process are in a general way the same as employed in the manufacture of lager beer or ale. I mash the malt, malt adjuncts or cereal products, boil the Wort, cool it and ferment it.