{"id":143944,"date":"2024-10-26T06:02:07","date_gmt":"2024-10-26T06:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=143944"},"modified":"2024-10-26T06:02:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T06:02:07","slug":"from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/","title":{"rendered":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer &#8211; By  GEORGE BRAINE"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer &#8211; By GEORGE BRAINE<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-90786 size-full alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/George-Braine-e1650953288207.jpg\" alt=\"George Braine\" width=\"150\" height=\"168\" \/>I moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as masons, carpenters, workers in tile factories and brick kilns \u2013 supplemented their income by brewing pot arrack. The main ingredient, coconut toddy, was readily available and so was the demand.\u00a0 Pot arrack was a cottage industry: the males did the brewing and the women sold it from home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Some of my immediate neighbors were brewers, the small time <em>mudalali<\/em> across the road being the main supplier for the area. In the evenings, a steady clientele of regulars could be seen going into his house. As the evening drew on, drunks, mainly middle aged men, would be staggering down the road, some singing bawdy songs and others picking quarrels with anyone around, using the foulest language.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Cleary, the making and selling of pot arrack was illegal. So, why didn\u2019t the police crackdown? The MP for the area, who also happened to be a cabinet minister, had requested the police to go easy on the pot arrack dealers. Those who indulged in the business were not well off and it provided an essential supplementary income to \u201cfeed their families\u201d, never mind the damage done to the consumers\u2019 health and family harmony. Anyhow, not to be put off, the police also went around to the dealers every month collecting their cut!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><strong>Distribution<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">When the supply exceeded local demand, the brewers found a ready market in nearby Negombo and further afield in Colombo and the suburbs. Transport was through two modes, train and car. In those days, I was teaching at Kelaniya University and took the \u201coffice train\u201d to work. Boralessa has a tiny railway station, manned by an agent (not a station master), with no security whatsoever. Men with four-gallon plastic containers filled with pot arrack would be hiding in the bushes around the station, and, as the train was pulling off, make a mad dash and scramble on to the train. The containers would be quickly hidden in the toilets or under seats. Although this was a daily spectacle witnessed by hundreds of passengers, not once did I see a raid by railway security, the police, or excise officers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Transport by car was more spectacular. The chosen model was the sleek Austin Cambridge A50, vintage 1950s, perhaps the fastest and most maneuverable car in those days of tight import restrictions. Cars loaded with pot arrack would set off for Colombo, both day and night. The natural boundary between the north western province, where Boralessa is located, and the western province, where Colombo is, happens to be the Ma Oya river, crossed by the legendary Kochchikade bridge. Once the cars carrying pot arrack crossed the bridge, they were under a new jurisdiction and at the mercy of the police. Avoiding the main road on which a number of police stations were located, the drivers took circuitous back roads, but the police did their best to stop the cars. So it was a cat and mouse game &#8211; roadblocks, checkpoints, ambushes, gunfire, and high speed chases, the stuff of thriller movies. One of these drivers, I\u2019ll call him Primus, recently told me of being fired on when he sped past the police. He is still alive to tell the tale, about 90 now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-143945\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-600x369.jpg\" alt=\"Austin Cambridge A50\" width=\"600\" height=\"369\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Austin Cambridge A50<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Dankotuwa, a nearby town that was surrounded by large coconut plantations (providing the essential ingredient for pot arrack), also supplied the brew to the Colombo area. The best of the liquor, on par or even better than the legitimate variety, whether from Boralessa or Dankotuwa, was known as \u201cDankotuwa Special\u201d. Many local musicians in those days were heavy drinkers, and a top musician told me not long ago that whenever he managed to get a bottle of the coveted \u201cDankotuwa Special\u201d, he would get together with another well-known musician to enjoy the treat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><strong>From pot arrack to kasippu<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">In the 1980s, due to various reasons, the supply of coconut toddy declined, but the demand for illicit liquor prevailed. Ever creative, villagers found a new way to continue with production. Instead of toddy, they began to use sugar dissolved in water, with generous doses of added yeast, to produce alcohol. This was <em>kasippu<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The 1980s were a turning point for Boralessa because large number of villagers began to travel to Italy, both illegally and legally, in search of work. Because the \u201cItalians\u201d had brought more prosperity to the villagers, the local MP, took a hands-off approach to the illicit trade; the police were given a free rein and could arrest and prosecute illegal brewers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">In the manufacture of <em>kasippu<\/em>, the fermentation process would take place in large, rusty barrels over a few days, and the barrels had to be hidden from the police. The village had enough hiding places \u2013 coconut groves, a weed-choked irrigation tank, long abandoned paddy fields, culverts, thickly wooded area &#8211; for the purpose. The bottom of my property has a pond surrounded by overgrown shrubs, and one day I found two barrels there. After I spoke with the prime suspect, the barrels disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Not all barrels were properly sealed, so passing lizards, rats, snakes and other creepy crawlies would fall in. To improve the \u201ckick\u201d, ammonia fertilizer, rusty barbed wire, and anything handy was added. <em>Kasippu<\/em>, unlike pot arrack, is very much a poison brew.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">A grocery store not far from my house probably sold tons of sugar every week. This could be estimated from the lorry loads of sugar that were unloaded there. It also showed how much illicit liquor was brewed in the village.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The Italian sojourn brought prosperity and some villagers developed a taste for whiskey. The dealer across the road, who had given up his illicit trade because he now had two sons in Italy, once boasted to me that he now drank only \u201cwhishkey\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><strong>Effects on the Lifestyle<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">A large number of villagers, both young and the elderly, consumed <em>kasippu<\/em>. I now realize that many, who worked as masons and carpenters, were alcoholics and this caused problems well beyond the immediate households.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Sundays were reserved for heavy drinking, which meant that, being severely hungover, nobody turned up for work on Mondays. A head carpenter I knew, who built roofs (backbreaking work under a blazing sun), who had a small team of assistants, dreaded Tuesdays because getting his men to turn-up for work took all morning. First, Anthony would call them, and they dutifully promised to turn-up at the worksite. But, often, they didn\u2019t. Then, Anthony would have to go around to their homes in a hired <em>tuk<\/em>, pleading and coaxing the men to join him. This was repeated weekly and the Anthony was fed up, till the pandemic hit and put an end to house construction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Kasippu<\/em> also affected family harmony because the men were habitually drunk, broke, and in poor health, leaving the womenfolk to keep the home fires burning. Domestic abuse was common. I know of broken homes where the women had fled, unable to bear their misery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><strong>Beer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">About ten years ago, a liquor store opened in Boralessa. Hard liquor was too expensive for most locals but beer sales exceeded expectations. The consumers were mainly young men, who had not developed a taste for the hard stuff. Perhaps, they had also seen the scourge that <em>kasippu<\/em> caused, even within their families, and spurned the stuff. Most evenings, they would converge on the beer shop and hang out for hours, even sitting on the railway tracks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Boralessa had come a long way from the days of pot arrack. People still drank, some copiusly, but I no longer see anyone staggering down the quiet Kiragara Road that runs along my property, singing bawdy songs. Most of the heavy drinkers have passed away, and the younger generations, bolstered by cash infusions from abroad, have become \u201crespectable\u201d. But I do miss the old Boralessa, where moonshine was king and daredvil drivers played cat and mouse games with the police.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-143946\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/The-quiet-Kiragara-Road-tht-runs-past-my-house-531x400.jpg\" alt=\"The quiet Kiragara Road tht runs past my house\" width=\"531\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 16px;\"><em>The quiet Kiragara Road tht runs past my house<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #800000;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/elanka-newsletter-sign-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Click here to receive your free copy of the eLanka Newsletter twice a week delivered directly\u00a0to\u00a0your\u00a0inbox!<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer &#8211; By GEORGE BRAINE I moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as masons, carpenters, workers in tile factories and brick kilns \u2013 supplemented their income by brewing pot arrack. The main ingredient, coconut toddy, was readily available and so was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":143945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,31383],"tags":[72501,72505,72503,72504,72502,72500],"class_list":{"0":"post-143944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"category-george-braine","9":"tag-austin-cambridge-a50","10":"tag-dankotuwa","11":"tag-kochchikade-bridge","12":"tag-ma-oya-river","13":"tag-vintage-1950s","14":"tag-whiskey-and-beer","15":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer - By GEORGE BRAINE - eLanka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer GEORGE BRAINEI moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer - By GEORGE BRAINE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer GEORGE BRAINEI moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eLanka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-26T06:02:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"369\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\"},\"headline\":\"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer &#8211; By GEORGE BRAINE\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-26T06:02:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/\"},\"wordCount\":1374,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Austin Cambridge A50\",\"Dankotuwa\",\"Kochchikade bridge\",\"Ma Oya river\",\"vintage 1950s\",\"Whiskey and Beer\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\",\"George Braine\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/\",\"name\":\"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer - By GEORGE BRAINE - eLanka\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-26T06:02:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer GEORGE BRAINEI moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":369,\"caption\":\"Austin Cambridge A50\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer &#8211; By GEORGE BRAINE\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"description\":\"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"width\":192,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"eLanka\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\",\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eLanka admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer - By GEORGE BRAINE - eLanka","description":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer GEORGE BRAINEI moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer - By GEORGE BRAINE","og_description":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer GEORGE BRAINEI moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as","og_url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/","og_site_name":"eLanka","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","article_published_time":"2024-10-26T06:02:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":369,"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"eLanka admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eLanka admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/"},"author":{"name":"eLanka admin","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd"},"headline":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer &#8211; By GEORGE BRAINE","datePublished":"2024-10-26T06:02:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/"},"wordCount":1374,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg","keywords":["Austin Cambridge A50","Dankotuwa","Kochchikade bridge","Ma Oya river","vintage 1950s","Whiskey and Beer"],"articleSection":["Articles","George Braine"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/","name":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer - By GEORGE BRAINE - eLanka","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-26T06:02:07+00:00","description":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer GEORGE BRAINEI moved to Boralessa, my ancestral village, in 1977. Many villagers \u2013 who made a living as","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Austin-Cambridge-A50-e1729922241282.jpg","width":600,"height":369,"caption":"Austin Cambridge A50"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/from-moonshine-to-whiskey-and-beer-by-george-braine\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"From Moonshine to Whiskey and Beer &#8211; By GEORGE BRAINE"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","name":"eLanka","description":"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization","name":"eLanka","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","width":192,"height":82,"caption":"eLanka"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd","name":"eLanka admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eLanka admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew"],"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143944"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143947,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143944\/revisions\/143947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}