Courtesy of Jonathan from This is the warmest, heartiest, manliest dish I can think of for a cold winter's night. Chunks of beef are cooked in a thick brown gravy enriched with 2 bottles of Guinness, resulting in a fragrant stew that retains a hint of stout to make your mouth water. Read more . You can use a different stout, such as Samuel Adams, but American brands tend to be somewhat sweeter, so leave out the brown sugar. Suet is rendered beef fat and it adds a deep, creamy, beefy flavour, although using vegetable oil is fine, too. To serve, I like to make thick mashed potatoes, form them into a big ring on each plate, and fill it with stew. Sprinkle some chopped parsley over the top for a bit of color and serve it with the moist Brown Soda bread.