First Mead - JOAM - Yeast Question

[Terranova1340]

Background: I am new to home brewing of any kind. I have spent the better part of the last month researching different types of home brews and have settled on JOAM as my first foray into brewing.

Question: I have found a ton of information on JOAM on this site, as well as other sites, as well as different youtube videos relating to the subject. One question I have continually seen surrounds that of yeast. The most common answer I have found is to use the yeast that the recipe recommends. This is well and fine. However, I am slightly confused as to which yeast is actually being recommended. Obviously I know the brand that is recommended is fleischmann's and I have seen that people recommend not using the bread machine or rapid rise. What I haven't seen is what is the difference between "Active Dry" and "Instant Dry". I have new "Instant Dry" I feel as though it ought to work. But I can't seem to find any information on the difference between the two as it pertains to JOAM.

Thanks in Advance

 

[Maylar]

Use standard active dry yeast, not quick rise. Instant is a quick rise.

 

[Terranova1340]

Use standard active dry yeast, not quick rise. Instant is a quick rise.

Awesome, thank you very much!

 

[Drewed]

The difference between these types of dry yeast is simple and doesn't effect mead makers. Active dry yeast has a larger granule and needs to be dissolved in water before using, if making bread, while instant yeast has a more fine texture and can be mixed right into dry ingredients.

 

[Maylar]

For whatever reason then, the JAOM experts recommend not using instant yeast. I dunno why.

 

[bernardsmith]

Never tried to make a JAOM but I think that instant yeast is designed to be added directly to dry ingredients (flour) - so is not "rehydrated" before use whereas bread yeast is designed to be rehydrated in liquid (water) first. Not sure why that is a critical issue with a JAOM but it might be given the pH of the must etc

 

[stamasd]

The "instant" baking yeast is produced by a different freeze-dry process which is gentler on the yeast cells with the result that more of them survive the drying process - i.e. there is less dead yeast in the same amount than in the "standard" one. It also has some additives mixed in like vitamin C etc. which help revive the dried yeast quicker.
(beside a homebrewer I'm also a home baker)