Any thought on the hops I posted?
OK, now that I have a little more time(in between patients having seizures and collapsing on me--2X today) I can talk a little more.
I haven't tried sterling so have no input on how it may be. I had a stint where I tried using US ingredients and was never happy with the results. After switching to Saaz and German or CZ malt I have been much happier and feel it's worth the money considering the time spent brewing.
I do like leaf over pellets and usually buy them when hopsdirect gets them in stock. I mash the wort out of them into the fermenter and so avoid the losses involved in them soaking up wort. I have had enough lame duck nobles from farmhouse to know I won't use them again--they haven't been worth brewing with IMHO. I think their supplier doesn't use a cooled die when forming and heats the flavor out of them.
You can't go wrong heavily hopping a Czech gold lager (Svetly). Keep in mind that we get CZ beer oxidized, aged, and shaken up from their voyage. Plus nobles don't present like US C-hops and won't punch you in the cocksucker if you are heavy handed. I typically hop my CZ Svetlys at APA to IPA rates. My latest 7 gal batch had 6ozs of Saaz from 15-0 mins. "Heavily hopped" is a common descriptor of Svetly so amp that bitch up.
Don't be afraid to go outside the box on one of these. CZ small brew pub owners all have their own take on Svetly just like US brewers. They don't think in terms of BJCP and style guidelines.
I would probably use the W-34 on this one. It is always good. MJ may or may not piss you off severely and takes forever to start, ferment, and flocc. Think of it as the Ringwood of lager yeasts. I'd hate for you to hate me if it turned out like crap lol.