Moonshine Recipe

Let’s Begin

Grocery list: what you’ll need for a 10 gallon recipe
This recipe is completely scalable. If you want to make 5 or 20 gallons, simply half or double the recipe.
  • 1 Can (12oz) Tomato Paste, (not sauce)
  • 1 Lemon (large, or three small)
  • 2.5lbs Potatoes (any kind will work, just grab a cheap 5# bag and use half)
  • 20lbs White sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons of baker’s yeast (Fleischmann’s or Red Star, buy the 4oz bottle instead of the packets to save money. Also, choose highly active if you have a choice)
  • 10gal Fermenter, this is what will hold your mash for 1-2 weeks while it ferments.  There are several options available here.  One:  Brute trashcans are made of food-grade plastic and make great fermenters.  Two:  Local donut shops typically give away or sell their old filling buckets; these are also food grade and extremely cheap, try to get them in 5 gallon sizes.  Three:  Buy new 5 gallon plastic paint buckets from a local hardware store for $5-$6.  *Note:* when making a 10 gallon mash, mixing is much easier in a container that can hold all 10 gallons, however, lifting and moving it becomes a monumental task.  Two 5 gallon buckets are much easier to move alone, but a bit harder to mix.
Making the mash:
  1. Boil approximately 2.5lbs of potatoes, then mash completely. Making them runny is preferred because they will mix easier.
  2. Fill the fermenter half way with hot water, any water you can drink is fine for this recipe, including tap.
  3. Mix 20lbs sugar into hot water.  Stir until completely dissolved.
  4. Mix mashed potatoes in.  Stir until completely dissolved.
  5. Mix 12oz tomato paste in.  Stir until completely dissolved.
  6. Juice one large lemon, add juice to fermenter mix.
  7. Top up to 9 gallons with water.  Alternate between hot and cold to reach a target temperature of 27°C (80°F) (70-90°F is fine, but do not go over 95°F or you may kill your yeast)
  8. Once at target temperature add 1oz (2 tablespoons) of yeast.  Stir until completely dissolved.
  9. Place lid loosely on fermenter.  You want to allow carbon dioxide gas to easily escape, but keep bugs from getting in.
  10. Set out of direct sunlight and maintain temperature between 21-27°C (70-80°F)
  11. Mash should begin to fizz or bubble within the first 24-48 hours.
  12. Check daily until either all activity in the mash stops or the mash has been fermenting for two full weeks.
  13. Distill promptly (within 3 days).