beer without malted grains and hops...in my humble opinion thats not beer.
hops came to england in the 16th century and hopped brews were called beer. Beers using other spices - lavender, sage, nettles, wormwood, there are hundreds - were called ales and for many years hops were shunned for use in brewing.
malted grains have been used since ancient egyptian times at least, before then i have no idea.
Out of interest here is a 500 year old recipe for Mum-Ale:
5 pints wheat malt
5 pints oat malt
5 pints beans
4 ounces fir-tree rind
2 oz fir and birch tops
1/4 handful Rosa Solis
betony
marjoram
avens
penny royal
elderflower
thyme
Cardus Benedictus
cardamom
bayberries
the beer should be casked with an unbroken egg and matured for two years
A sea voyage greatly improves the beer
I cant say I've tried it (mainly becuase i havent heard of half the ingredients), I would be greatly interested to hear from anyone who does.