I've had my first ever attempt at a lager, a Bohemian Pilsner, in primary for 2 weeks. It's been held at 10 degrees for the duration. I took a sample last night and it's down to an SG of 1.009, so I guess it's more or less done fermenting. It tasted pretty good, but is lacking the noble hop aroma that I believe completes the style requirements.
Unfortunately I've lost the recipe, but it was pretty simple, something like:
Batch size: 19L
4KG Weyermann Pilsner Malt mashed with a single infusion at around 66*c
Bittered with Perle to give a middle of the road total like 40 IBUs
A late, probably 0 min addition of Saaz (more flavour and bitterness than aroma due to no-chilling)
WY2278 - Czech Pilsner, built up to a 5L starter (5L poured off, yeast only was pitched)
OG 1.049
No-Chiiled in cube
I'm thinking of making a Saaz hop tea to give it the aroma, but I don't want to overdo it. I've only got around 15g Saaz left, so should I french press this for 20 mins, and add to secondary? I'm assuming this will produce a result much more true to style than dry hopping?
Also, as it's already at 1.009, have I missed any opportunity to do a diacetyl rest? When I tasted it, I couldn't detect any, so am I best not to worry about it?
As an aside: I actually made this in late September last year, hot packed it into the cube and more or less forgot about it due to a brewing hiatus. So it was stored for nearly 7 months. As such, I wasn't expecting great things from it, and granted my palatte is more used to over-hopped pale ales than crisp lagers, but I was pleasantly surprised by both the good flavour and the clarity (which seemed reasonable for a sample straight out of the primary). While long term storage of no-chilled wort isn't something I intend to make a habit of, I thought my observations might be of some interest and reassurance to the no-chillers out there.