Today in 1987, US Patent 4670274 A was issued, an invention of Piroska Ress, Istvan Kiss, Geza Miltenyi, Antal Strahl, Imre Petro, Jozsef Farkas, Peter Biacs, Istvanne Kozma, and Istvan Debreczeny, assigned to Kobanyai Sorgyar, for their “Process For Controlling the Germination of Malting Barley.” Here’s the Abstract:

The present invention relates to controlling germination of barley in the malting process. More particularly, the invention relates to the treatment of malting barley by ionizing radiation prior to the malting process.

Barley field in Colorado.