What's the only RoundTable on GEnie with a head on it?
  
Zymurgy.
  
No, I didn't sneeze. Webster's says, "Zy.mur.gy \'zi--(.)m*r-je-\ n : a
branch of applied chemistry that deals with fermentation processes."
That's why the RoundTable that deals with homebrewing, wine-making,
mead-making, cider-making, and even home-made soft drinks is called the
Zymurgy RoundTable.
  
To get to it, though, you don't have to remember how to spell it. Just
type M1152 or the keyword BEER at any GEnie page prompt.
  
Home Bulletins
  
The Zymurgy Bulletin Board is made up of both recipe and discussion
topics. Chief sysop Gail Beatrous says, "We have a wide array of Topics to
choose from, ranging from reviews of books and brewing software, to talk
of pending legislation that will affect homebrewers, to designing a beer
online, or organizing beer swaps."
  
In Category 2, On Tap: Beer Appreciation!, you'll find discussions of
beers organized according to types, such as Lagers (Pilsner, Munchner,
Dortmunder, Vienna, Maerzen, Oktoberfest, Bock, Dopplebock, and Light
Beer) and Ales (British Styles, Cream Ale, Porter, Stout, German
Alt/Kolsch, Barleywine, and Imperial Stout). There is also discussion of
Steam Style, Specialty Beers, Trappist Abbey Beers, Weisse/Weizenbier, and
Lambics/PseudoLambics.
  
Not sure what they are? This is the place to find out. Beatrous emphasizes
that both novices and experts are welcome.
  
Category 3, Pubs, Brewpubs, & Microbreweries in YOUR Locale, focuses on
trends in the United States and elsewhere. These Topics deal with pubs and
bars, brewpubs, and microbreweries, and breaks them down further by region
in Europe and the United States to facilitate touring.
  
Want to know what all is actually involved in brewing at home? Turn to
Category 4, Homebrewing, for topics in beer kits, extract brewing, partial
mash brewing, yeast, culturing, cleaning and sanitation, water treatment,
hops, cooling your wort, gravity testing, fermentation techniques, brewing
aids, troubleshooting, bottles and bottling, kegging, aging your homebrew,
lagering, and (just in case you need to know you're not alone) Homebrew
Disasters.
  
Category 5 is dedicated to recipes for an incredible variety of beers.
Category 6 deals with equipment, Category 7 tells you about books and
software, and Category 8 focuses on suppliers for all of the stuff you'll
need.
  
Although beer gets most of the attention in the Bulletin Board, other
Categories deal with different kinds of grain and fruit-based beverages.
For instance, Category 10 encompasses Cider, Mead, Soft Drinks, & Other
Fermentables. Category 11 deals with wine-making. Other Categories deal
with some of the social aspects of home brewing.
  
The Wine Cellar
  
The Zymurgy RoundTable shares a Library with the Food & Wine RoundTable,
but there's a whole separate area set aside for the Zymurgy RoundTable
files. They have recipes, files on brewing beer, and files discussing
kegging or building a cheap wort chiller. For instance, file #3202
HBD-1194.TXT is an ASCII (text) version of Homebrew Digest dated 8/2/93.
File #3092 SUDS22.EXE is SUDS, the brewers cookbook and log program. SUDS
maintains DBase III compatible recipe and log files which can be browsed
by any util ity capable of viewing DBASE III file formats. It also
includes a pop-up calculator to help with calculations, a pop-up calendar,
a hop-IBU spreadsheet to calculate hop IBUs for beer batches, and printing
of beer labels.
  
The Virtual Pub
  
The Zymurgy RoundTable holds Real-Time Conferences every Saturday night at
10 PM Eastern time. Beatrous says, "Sometimes winners of our various
contests are announced there, sometimes we hold trivia contests, and
always we talk about brewing." As with the Library, they share conference
rooms with the Food & Wine RoundTable; room 2 is set aside for the Zymurgy
folks.
  
Whatever your level of interest, the Zymurgy RoundTable serves up a fine
menu of information on homebrewing and microbreweries. Maybe some new
ideas will bubble up; you might brew up a new hobby. It's worth a taste.
