malted barley maize Tiswin Tesgüino brewer's yeast hops adjunct millet sorghum cassava agave grain bill fermentation sugars ethanol wheat rice malt carbon dioxide yeast
The basic ingredients of beer are water; a starch source, such as malted barley or malted maize (such as used in the preparation of Tiswin and Tesgüino), able to be saccharified (converted to sugars) and then fermented (converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide); a brewer's yeast to produce the fermentation; and a flavouring such as hops. A mixture of starch sources may be used, with a secondary carbohydrate source, such as maize (corn), rice, wheat, or sugar, often termed an adjunct, especially when used alongside malted barley. Less widely used starch sources include millet, sorghum, and cassava root in Africa; potato in Brazil; and agave in Mexico, among others. The amount of each starch source in a beer recipe is collectively called the grain bill.
