Proof

The Science of Booze

By: Adam Rogers

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A spirited narrative on the fascinating art and science of alcohol, sure to inspire cocktail party chats on making booze, tasting it, and its effects on our bodies and brains.

Drinking gets a lot more interesting when you know what's actually inside your glass of microbrewed ale, single-malt whisky, or Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. All of them begin with fermentation, where a fungus called yeast binges on sugar molecules and poops out ethanol. Humans have been drinking the results for 10,000 years. Distillation is a 2,000-year-old technology - invented by a woman - that we're still perfecting today. And the molecular codes of alcoholic flavors remain a mystery pursued by scientists with high-tech laboratories and serious funding.

In Proof, Adam Rogers reveals alcohol as a miracle of science, going deep into the pleasures of making and drinking booze - and the effects of the latter. The people who make and sell alcohol may talk about history and tradition, but alcohol production is really powered by physics, molecular biology, organic chemistry, and a bit of metallurgy - and our taste for those products is a melding of psychology and neurobiology.

Proof takes readers from the whisky-making mecca of the Scottish highlands to the oenology labs at UC Davis, from Kentucky bourbon country to the most sophisticated gene-sequencing labs in the world - and to more than one bar - bringing to life the motley characters and evolving science behind the latest developments in boozy technology.

©2014 Adam Rogers (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Maybe it's just me....

Overall, good narrator. like his voice. Book was more textbook than novel. I thought it would be more of a story about liquor, not the technical side.

Break out your chemistry and biology textbooks

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

For my friends who want to to get into the science of how alcohol works, this a great book. When it says "The Science of Booze" they weren't kidding. The chemistry and biology aspects were hard to follow but still interesting. If I had the hard copy, I would have been highlighting things and looking them up. If you like to get to the heart and really dig into the "why" and "how" of alcohol then this is a great book. If you are looking to figure out how to make the perfect cocktail, then keep looking.

Good narrator, interesting info

Very enjoyable to listen to and very informative. A history of alcohol with new science. Really liked listening to it while on my honeymoon exploring vineyards and distilleries.

Great listen

I didn’t expect to like this as usually I am a fiction listener. However, with my interest in alcohol and the ways it is made, this sparked my interest. The narrator was engaging and clear. I enjoyed how the facts were broken up by life experience anecdotes. Sometimes I even rewound to listen to sections when I was distracted. Overall great listen for my morning walks.

Interesting in-depth exploration of booze

In-depth, entertaining scientific exploration of how humans created and refined booze. A very fun listen ! 😀

by Eve - Like no other in depth of the science!

08/22/2015

Loved this book! It is a complete understanding and then some of every moment of the life of an alcohol!

Eve DuBose

hard to keep up with

this book was hard to keep up with and just stated facts and opinions. it never really highlighted anything important

God loves us and wants us to be happy

I recently finished listening to Proof: The Science of Booze written by Adam Rogers and narrated Sean Runnette.

This is a book that attempts to do the impossible. It attempts to write a well thought out book about booze, it's discovery, development, history, chemistry, biochemistry, effects on human physiology and interactions with the neurology of our brains and even the effects of sociology added into the mix. If that doesn't sound challenging enough the author attempts to write this from both a scholarly perspective and, at the same time, offer a layman's explanation for those of us who are not scientists, but merely connoisseurs.

To be fair, this is an impossible challenge, but the author gamely stands at the bar and does his best to take each topic shot after shot. He flavors the scientific discussion with personal tales, anecdotes, and easy to understand explanations. This book is not exhaustive on any one subject. It becomes clear the more you learn that no book could be. It does, however, give a great general overview of the topic.

The narrator Sean Runnette seemed to be well selected for this book. His voice acting helped me easily imagine the ethanol laced dreams of the connoisseur that wrote this book. He added to the overall quality of the blend in this spirit.

Conclusion: This is a thick dark beer of a book with hints of coffee in the conversation to keep one constantly engaged. The pairing of author and narrator were perfect. Perhaps beer really is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

A very pleasant surprise.

I found the book to both informative and entertaining. It was one of the best books that I have listened to on Audible.

Proof weaves a fascinating story arc

The story of alcohol is told in an incredibly engaging way. Serious one moment, humorous the next. The writing opens up tangents that provide many an aha moment while Sean Runnette creatively ties them together in many a neat bow. Like a night on the town, we set out to have some fun, we may not know when our where the night will end, but in the end we make it home with a memorable and shared tale or two.