German Brewing

Sorry. I keep clicking quote instead of edit. The first two posts ran out of time so I can't delete anymore of my posts, hence the "."

One has to remember that alpha acids don't tell the whole story in the german flavor profile.

For the German styles, it really is all about not having off flavours coming from the green matter.

For the base bitterness, high alpha hops are really well suited, and a good armoa hop like Hersbrucker will give you a finish that you may encounter in many northern German styles and a few southern ones.

A 100% Hersbrucker pils is not that great.

Use magnum for base and hersbrucker on the finish (about 33% towards the 15-20 minute mark, pending on your post-boil rest), and it's rather remarkable.

There can be something like too much of the good thing. Our styles are carefully balanced. The nuances are rather subtle indeed. It does depend greatly on method and setup. So it's worth fine-tuning towards one's taste. Alas, there is no blanket formula but there is a mind-set like the one described above.

Happy brewing!

I use Tettnanger. Magnum for main bittering. But still with Tett I have to lager it for several months for the floral thing to go away. I really don't like it. I find it in all noble hops. I've tasted some quick-lager beers, which didn't even taste or feel like helles lagers at all, and the floral thing was all over the place in all of them, just a mud of flowers.

Maybe you added them too late? You have a lot of stuff going on post-boil. Even though some may have a different opinion on this, I always rest the wort for 20-30 minutes before transfer to let things settle out and further aroma development (Narziss). After that I can bring it immediately to pitch temperatures (5 Celsius), so you may need to adjust a bit if your HE + chiller are less efficient.

I always lager for at least 8 weeks.

I've been liking a FWH and a 20 min addition for my German Pils. I get just the right amount of flavor and aroma out of the Noble hops. When it try 5-10 min it's just not as smooth. Also like this in my Helles but I tone it down a bit.

You are probably boiling a bit less intense. That can have a noticeable impact.

Many Helles are hopped like Wheat beers. One early addition only.