Drunk Monk - Tasting

I think I may have an abnormally high number of tastings to post here in the early stages of my blog.  I have some good beers that I have been aging for a bit of time, especially this one, and I'd like to share them with you... in the form of a blog post.  ;-)

I brewed this a year and a half ago and most of it was drunk (see what I did there :-D) within the first six months of being brewed; with a good amount of help from some friends (Kari).  Luckily for you, and me, I cellared 12 bottles to be enjoyed over the following year, and possibly beyond depending on how well it was aging.

A thought on aging beer; I like it.  The only things that made this special enough to age was that I used Belgian Abby yeast, that I knew would continue to develop as it matured, I brewed it relatively strong, 8%, and I felt like it was a really good beer.  I love the idea of cellaring beer and I've done some experimenting with different types of beer and had some surprising results (I had a Raspberry Cream Ale that I saved for well over a year that seemed to improve despite its low abv); but that is probably a topic on its own.

It's been about 6 months since I've had one of these, so on to the beer.

Appearance

Deep opaque ruby in color with a quickly dissipating tan head.

Aroma

I'm getting a lot of banana with some hints of dark dried fruit (maybe a mix of prune and raisin).

Flavor

When this was a younger beer I remember it having a lot of bubble gum.  The last time I had it the taste was like a young green banana.  Today I'm getting moist banana nut bread with some raisin sauce throughout.  Then it moves into over ripened banana and toasted breadiness aftertaste.

Mouth Feel

It feels silky as it enters the mouth, then the high carbonation kicks in and the tongue gets all tingly.

If I had it to do over the one thing that I know I would change is the level of carbonation.  I think I carbed with 6 oz of brown sugar, when 5 or less would have done the job.  I'm also curious if the better chiller, that I have now, would help the chill haze, so that it would be clear rather than opaque.  I think that Drunk Monk is reaching it peak, so the last couple of bottles will be busted out to be enjoyed at the next BOOBS meeting.  I'm sure you'll excuse me while I savor the rest of this glass.