The Art of Eating's Carbonade à la Gueuze

Ingredients (8)

• 3 1/2 pounds beef chuck (shoulder)
• Lard or excellent, fresh-tasting olive oil or another good, light cooking oil
• 4 or more large onions, totaling as much as 2 1/4 pounds
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 quart excellent gueuze or other lambic beer, such as from the Cantillon brewery
• A bundle of herbs: 1 bay leaf, half a dozen parsley branches or roots, and a couple of branches of fresh thyme, tied together (or use dried thyme, loose)
• Salt and black pepper
• Brown or white sugar