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I find freezing and thawing changes the flavor of blueberries, and they sometimes taste more bitter. If you have them fresh, you may just want to gently mash them with a potato masher or some such. Avoid blenders as they will crack seeds and give unwanted bitterness.

It works well with blueberries. I can't say how it turns out with oranges, but it will ferment them without problem. Raisins probably won't give you enough nitrogen. You need a good energizer product like Fermaid K (or similar products) +/- some DAP. If you keep the temp below 70 to start...

Just to be technical, if you add nutrients and energizers it is not a "Show Mead" - that term being reserved for meads made with only yeast, honey and water. What you will be making is referred to as a traditional mead. Show meads are finicky and can be difficult to ferment without special care...

Yes, it will work. It is particularly good with berry melomels and pyments. However, it is a nutrient hog and will stink it up if you don't give it plenty of nutrients. Also, controlling the temp is important as it can get out of control and ferment too fast if the temperature is too high.

When carbonating a batch that is at a relatively high ABV and near the ABV tolerance of the yeast, it can take several weeks for carbonation to happen, but if you aren't seeing it after 1 month, I'd consider using an acclimated, high-ABV yeast such as a Champagne strain to finish it.

Actually some of it applies. Even if there are no hops, wine and meads contain other compounds such as riboflavin that can interact with UV radiation to produce sulfur odors. This is referred to in France as goût de lumière - but the "taste of light" is not a good thing. It is a major flaw. So...

There isn't a lot of science behind degassing. There is good data that shows fermenting under CO2 pressure inhibits yeast, though you have to get above 7 atmospheres to bring their reproduction to a halt. However, even under as little as 0.3 atmospheres of CO2 pressure, the time required for...

I addressed this in another post, but even without tannins, it is a bad idea to expose mead to direct sunlight as it can lead to Goût de lumière. Medsen

Direct sunlight is not good for mead and wines. Other ways of heating are better. The UV can interact with riboflavin and cause Goût de lumière (lightstrike - a sulfur odor that you won't appreciate). Medsen

Very cold conditions may have limited the growth initially and kept your yeast population lower, especially when combined with nutrient deficiency. A pH problem could also contribute to slow fermentation.

SeeThis Thread

Roger Morse, in his book Making Mead, provides a good formulation for the nutritional needs of the yeast. You could certainly make it "homemade" if you wanted to, but for the time and effort, I personally would rather buy it from Lallemand. Their formula is designed to meet the needs of the...

Actually a blend of honey can still be classified as a show mead, as long as it is honey, water, and yeast only. Using a blend can be a very helpful way of making a show mead as using some dark honey mixed in can provide a bit more nitrogen and mineral content to help the yeast.

A hoary GotMead thread on taxonomy of mead.

Yep, you probably just have young mead. Age will transform it into something very different. And just to be technical, what you have is a "traditional mead." The term "show mead" is reserved for meads made without the addition of nutrients or any other additives except honey, water and yeast.

And what temperature did you maintain?

Yep, that sounds like young mead - especially if the fermentation temp was a little high. If you give us the recipe details, we may be able to say more. Bulk vs. bottle aging has not been rigorously tested. I think you can age either way. I do bulk aging because I don't want to waste time...

I usually ferment without a sealed container. During fermentation, a little air won't be a problem.

Usually that lack of crispness is too little acid or too much residual sugar. Serving temperature may also be a factor - cooler tends to reduce perception of sweetness.

If it is truly sulfur, it probably isn't going away. The reductive environment in the bottle tends to allow the sulfur compounds to stay. If what you are getting are medicinal, "plasticy", Band-Aid, phenolic odors, those will probably clear with another 6 months of aging. High temp...