beef and guinness stew

as we have st patrick's day and i can't take part in one of the festivals i made a traditional irish beef and guinness stew (yes, with real irish guinness!). found the recipe one year ago in an english magazine and now i cook it from time to time coz it's delicious. trust me!
and here's the recipe:

you need:
2 pounds lean stewing beef
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons flour
salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of cayenne
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 large clove garlic, crushed (optional)
2 tablespoons tomato puree, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cups guinness beer
2 cups carrots, cut into chunks, Sprig of thyme

what you need to do:
first, you trim the meat of any fat or gristle, cut into cubes of 2 inches (5cm) and toss them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil. then you season the flour with salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch or two of cayenne. after that, you toss the meat in the mixture.
heat the remaining oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat. brown the meat on all sides. add the onions, crushed garlic and tomato puree to the pan, cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes.
transfer the contents of the pan to a casserole, and pour some of the guinness into the frying pan. bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the caramelized meat juices on the pan.
pour onto the meat with the remaining guinness and add the carrots and the thyme. stir, taste, and add a little more salt if necessary.
cover with the lid of the casserole and simmer for 2-3 hours very gently until the meat is tender.
taste and correct the seasoning. you may scatter with lots of chopped parsley.
and of course, you can add new potatoes and vegetables of your choice.