Well...the results are in.
Invited my neighbor (Dave) over to be a judge of my most recent attempt at a classic German Pilsner.
The grain bill was a 50/50 split, Weyermann Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner and Avangard Premium Pilsner Malt.
Hops = Tettnanger & Hallertau.
Yeast = Diamond Lager (harvested yeast slurry)
Original Brix = 12.4
Final Brix = 7.0
ABV = 4.73%
IBU = 32
SRM = 3
Boil Time = 90 minutes
Mash = Multi-Step Infusion
Dave's background is a multi award winning home brewer, plus he worked for a craft brewery in Austin, Texas, for a number of years. About 3 years ago he moved up to the North Texas area, locating in my neighborhood.
Dave is brutally honest. He told me a Festbier that I had brewed was seriously flawed (diacetyl). He seems to have a highly trained (and hyper sensitive) sense of taste, and is able to pick up more "off flavors" than most people I know.
So here is the result - He said this is one of the best Pils he has ever had. Better than most commercial examples. I told him to find a flaw with it. He said he looked high and low, but there are no flaws that he could detect.
This beer will be brewed again, in a day or two. This time I will treat the water will Gypsum / Sulfates. Note that I have never treated the brewing water before, but will do this next German Pilsner as an experiment now that we have established a baseline with the current recipe.
My personal opinion? The Pils is good. Very good. It is probably my best effort to date for this style. Next time the bittering hops will be increased to give a little more "up front" hop bitterness.
Using the two Pils malts did give this beer a little more depth of character.