Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the meat- brown on each side. If necessary, this can be done in batches.
Add in the garlic and onions and sautee until they are softened, about 5 minutes or so. Pour in the beer and increase the heat to medium-high, bringing it nearly to a boil for about 10 minutes.
Decrease the heat to medium/medium-low. Add the beef stock, water, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcester sauce, and carrots. Let it simmer, uncovered, for at least an hour. The longer, the better!
Add the potatoes and simmer for another 40 minutes, until the meat is tender and the potatoes are cooked through and soft.
Discard the thyme, add pepper if desired, and pour into bowls, and dunk in some homemade Ciabatta bread! ;)
Notes
I like to throw some frozen peas into the soup at the end ;)Also, I used a puff pastry to decorate the top- it’s fun to peel it off and dunk into the soup. To do this, take 2 frozen puff pastries and let them sit out at room temperature until softened up enough to unroll. Cut them in half. Fill 4 bowls with strew and top with the puff pastry, sealing along the sides and draping off the top. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Crack an egg and whisk in 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash and place in the oven until the top is golden brown, about 10-15 minutes or so.