I am also looking into Cassava brewing,
have come up with a few things so far....
Cauim is a kind of alcoholic beverage made in South and Central America, though it is usually associated with Brazil. Its production originated in pre-Columbian times and has continued into the modern era. There is some commercial cauim production, but most of it is made and consumed by indigenous communities. The drink closely resembles chicha, which is a drink made by the same groups of people.
Like most indigenous recipes, cauim can have many variations. Often, it is fermented from the root of the manioc, which is also called yucca or cassava. It can also be made using plantains, maize, rice or peanuts; however, manioc is generally considered to be the defining ingredient. Sometimes, other substances are added to the mash. These can include fruit juices and sugars to add flavor to the finished product and feed the yeast in the mash, helping it ferment.
One characteristic that unites all of the varieties of traditional cauim is the process by which it is made. First, caium makers, who are usually women, cook the starchy base ingredient. After it is cooked, they chew it and reform it into patties. They then cook the patties again. Next, they combine the twice-cooked starch with liquid and flavorings to create a mash, which they allow to ferment.
Chewing helps break down the manioc so that it can ferment; without it, the mash would go bad rather than turning into alcohol. The saliva that mixes with the manioc when it is chewed has substances in it called diastase enzymes. They act as catalysts, facilitating the transformation of the starch in the roots into malt sugar, which feeds the yeast that produce the alcohol during the fermentation process.
There is also a commercial product called cauim that is made by the Colorado Cervejaria, a Brazilian brewery. This product is made using modern brewing techniques — no chewing is involved. Its link to the indigenous drink is that it, too, is a beer made from manioc; however, its starch base is imported Czech cassava powder.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cauim.htm
Also...
Diastatic enzymes: The diastatic brewing enzymes break down and convert starch (the endosperm of the grain) into fermentable sugars and unfermentable dextrins. We are interested in the two diastatic enzymes that become active during the mash. These are alpha-amylase and beta-amylase. They work together to break down long complex chains of soluble (or gelatinized) starch molecules into sugars or dextrins. Starch molecules are basically just long chains of glucose molecules. But due to the bonds between them, they are not fermentable. Maltose has two glucose molecules bonded together and is fermentable. Dextrins have long chains with four or more glucose molecules and are byproducts of starch conversion. Dextrins are not fermentable and have no taste. They do however add body and mouthfeel to beer.
Alpha-amylase chops up starch molecules randomly into chunks that beta-amylase can then work on. Until these molecules are chopped up, they are unfermentable and called dextrins. What alpha-amylase does is called liquefication. It physically liquefies the starches, making them ready for further enzymatic activity. Mash schedules that target the alpha-amylase enzymatic action (optimum at 158°F/50°C) yield a wort with a high percentage of unfermentable sugars, or dextrins. The beer produced is very rich, with a thicker body and mouthfeel.
Beta-amylase breaks down starch and dextrins into glucose (one molecule), maltose (two molecules) and maltotriose (three molecules). After beta-amylase is through working, the starch has been broken down into fermentable sugar. Mash schedules that target the beta-amylase enzymatic action (optimum at 140°-149°F/60°-65°C) yield a wort that is highly fermentable. The beer produced will be drier tasting and contain more alcohol.
It is important to understand that although mash enzymes have an optimum temperature, they will work over a wide range, and most of the time, the activity of enzymes overlap within that range. Both alpha-amylase and beta-amylase will work well together within the range of 145° to 158°F (63°-70°C). So in general, if you want a thinner, drier, more alcoholic beer you can rest your mash in the lower portion of this range, and if you want a richer more dextrinous beer with more mouthfeel and body, you should rest your mash in the upper portion of this range. A good compromise is made by mashing in the middle, around 152°F (67°C).
http://www.winning-homebrew.com/enzymes.html
But the most important part I found out about the Cassava root is that its already refined base is Tapioca...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapioca
So if you use tapioca, as well as an amylase enzyme powder in your mash, you can convert the starches into fermentable sugars...
I will be trying this soon myself, sorry for the long version of beer nerding, but thats what we enjoy right?
