Today in 1889, US Patent 3834296 A was issued, an invention of Uwe Jess and Wolfgang Kehs, for their “Continuous Production of Beer Wort From Dried Malt.” Here’s the Abstract:

An apparatus for continuously making beer wort from dried malt has a malt soaking unit and a malt crusher which is adapted to receive the soaked malt from the unit and has at least two smooth-surface cooperating rolls and drive means for driving them at differential velocities. A conduit system has a plurality of upright heatable conduit sections and serves for heating a mash which is produced after the malt has been treated in the crusher, and a clarifying unit is provided for clarifying the mash having been heated previously.