toby I think you may have identified the issue - my guess is maybe I did not mash long enough - 90% of my brewing over the years is german lager and American ale, so pils and rahr 2row are my norm.
I mashed at 152 for 50 min before raising to 168 for mashout.
I used 002 not Edinburgh as I had just made a red extra IPA with the former 2 weeks prior, otherwise I would have.
What I did also note was that my attenuation was significantly lower than I expected. I got 71% on this beer, whereas my norm for 002 is 75-80%, in fact I hit ~78% on the previous beer from which the slurry came.
The beer is very very good, mind you, but the I compared it to Dirty Bastard yesterday - the aroma lacks what I would consider the higher notes of caramelly rich malt, almost doppelbock like notes, and is not nearly as crisp in the finish as the 'control' beer. My beer feels more full and creamy in mouthfeel. Head retention is much greater in mine.
i'll take your advice and mash a bit longer next time I make this and maybe even just do a long boil rather than the boildown - easy enough.
I think I'd also like to look into my grist composition a bit more - I like the deeper, darker color and complexity of DB than what I made which was 81% GP, 15% Dark Munich and 4% Eng Med Crystal.