The results are in...my brewing friend, and neighbor, and former craft brewer in Austin, Texas, has picked the winner.
In a blind taste test, he chose the filtered beer over the non filtered beer.
The first thing he said was the filtered beer was brilliant, crystal clear.
The two beers were nearly identical in all regards except for being filtered. He did go back and forth, with multiple tastings, having a hard time picking a winner. As the beers warmed up, his choice became more clear.
Dave had no info on the beers, or how they were brewed. All he knew was they represented my effort to brew a 5D Classic German Pilsner.