Today in 1973, US Patent 3746550 A was issued, an invention of Lars Karl Johan Ehnstrom, for his “Method of Continuous Mashing.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The present invention relates to a method of continuous mashing in connection with micro-biological processes, where the mash is heated to a predetermined temperature which is intended to be maintained uniformly when the mash passes through a mashing stage in which enzymatic reactions take place.