The noble hops are Hallertau, Saaz, Tettnang, and Spalt.
Saaz, Tettnang, and Spalt are all genetically the same but grown in different regions so have very slight different characteristics.
My favorite noble hop for Pilsners is Tettnang. Then I love the floral flavor of Hallertau that melds into the beer.
Then you have Hersbrucker which is an offshoot of Hallertau and it has a noticeable floral flavor but I don't personally think it mixes in well with the rest of the flavors in beer... But it is a very common hop in German pilsners... It was supposed to be a replacement for Hallertau that had better growing characteristics.
In America in the 80's the USDA released four hop varieties bred from Hallertau. Crystal, Mt. Hood, Liberty, and Ultra. I don't know about Ultra. But Mt. Hood and Liberty supposedly have a very similar flavor profile to the noble hops.
I haven't had a chance to use them but I did make a test blonde ale with Crystal. It was a very good tasting hop... but it had a very pronounced grapefruit aroma and flavor with a floral background... It didn't meet the german characteristics I was wanting for the German IPA I was producing... But I could see it going well for a more modern tasting pilsner.
Then in the 90's the USDA released Santiam which was a cross of Tettnang, Hallertau, and a derivative of Cascade. Every descriptor or review I've seen of the hop espouses the spicy Tettnang flavor characteristics so I bought a pound to use for my German IPA. But almost all I got from it was an orangelike flavor that combined with the malt to taste like marmalade... I like the hop but again I'd use it more if you want to try an americanized german style.
In Germany the Huell Institute released Saphir, Smaragd, and Opal (sapphire, emerald, and opal). They are all noble type hops. I haven't tasted Smaragd or Opal. But Firestone Walker's Pivo Pils uses Saphir as their aroma hop. It is predominantly noble hop style flavor with a light citrusy note.
Recently Huell released Mandarina Bavaria and Melon. With orange and melon characteristics respectively. I really dislike the type of bitterness I've seen from the Mandarina hop... Much harsher than the other noble hops that I've tried. I've never been able to discern any aroma or flavor from the Huell Melon... Maybe my nose is just not sensitive to the oils it has.
I have heard great things about using New Zealand hops in german style pilsners. I think that a lot of their hops are descended from german hops... I want to explore some of those. But I'd look for ones that talk about spicy character along with the usual tropical fruit flavors.
On your end I agree with the use of Sonnet for aroma and flavor. Magnum is commonly used for bittering lagers if you don't want to waste the Sonnet on bittering but want the IBU's.
I have a very low alcohol lager that used EKG hops. Hopefully I'll be able to get an idea of how EKG works as a lager and hopefully I didn't ruin the beer.
