This section is from the book "Beverages And Their Adulteration Origin, Composition, Manufacture, Natural, Artificial, Fermented, Distilled, Alkaloidal And Fruit Juices", by Harvey W. Wiley. Also available from Amazon: Beverages And Their Adulteration.
The commonly employed substitutes for malt are unmalted barley; the starchy parts of Indian corn, known as hominy grits, rice; brewers' sugars, made by the treatment of cornstarch with an acid; and low-grade cane sugars. The beers that are made partly from brewers' sugars are not of as high a quality as beer made wholly from cereal. The best beer is that made only of barley malt and hops.
 
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