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Malt Extract: A "tea" made from malted barley, then either condensed to a syrup or dried into a powder. The foundation of beer.
Hops: The flowers of the hop plant, used to impart bitterness and/or aroma to beer.
Whole Grains: Provides additional flavoring and aids in head retention
Honey: Used in the place of malt extract when making mead.
Gypsum: Adds mineral content to water.
Acid Blend: A blend of three acids, sometimes added to mead to lessen the "heat" of alcohol.
Irish Moss Powder: Actually made of seaweed, helps speed the clarification process in mead.

Specific Gravity: Specific gravity measures the density of a liquid. Water has a specific gravity of 1.000. The higher the specific gravity the more solids are dissolved into the beer or mead. These dissolved solids are what feeds the yeast, and thus the more dissolved solids the more food the yeast have to eat.
Initial Specific Gravity: The specific gravity of the beer or mead just before the yeast is added. A higher number implies that the yeast will have more food, and thus produce more alcohol.
Final Specific Gravity: The specific gravity of the beer or mead just before bottling. The closer to 1.000 the more complete the fermentation has been. Beer almost never actually makes it to 1.000, but some types of mead hit 1.000 or less. The difference between the initial and final specific gravities shows exactly how much "food" the yeast have eaten and so provides an estimate of the percent alcohol of the beer/mead.

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