Pork Stewed in Beer - Test 1

http://www.recettes.qc.ca/recettes/recette/mijote-de-porc-a-la-biere-85456
http://jaimelerable.ca/recettes/ragout-la-biere-et-lerable
http://jebouffe.com/fr/2012/04/ragout-de-porc-a-la-biere-noire/

1 - I thought this would be a no brainer i stant hit and it wasn't. It is tasty as it is, but too rich. I put in more beer than requested, which may have been the sole culprit, but I also felt that, because of the fattiness of the pork we got, some citrus would be a good addition. And I really like thyme, so will replace the rosemary for more thyme. - I've decided to use the left over meat to make a pot pie.
NOTE: I used the left over meat as pie filling, and although quite rich, it worked really well.
2 - I learned that slow-cookers need a fraction of the liquid usually applied to stews and braising and such. This may explain the strangeness of my first attempt at this recipe. This time 'round, I forgot to put everything together in the morning, so no slow cooker, yet I had to make dinner, so I decided to just make a regular stove-top stew out of it, and it turned out quite nice! Therefore, I am re-re-writing the recipe for a stove-top stew!

1 + 2 Tbsps. vegetable oil
2 onions (12oz/340g), chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. cubed stewing pork, 1" pieces, fat removed
1/3 cup flour
2 tsps salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1 Tbsp butter
1 bottle of dark beer
1 1/2 cups broth
2 Tbsps brown sugar
3 parsley stems
2 generous sprigs thyme
3 bay laurel leaves
1-2 lbs cabbage, cut into eights
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stems, chopped
Optional: 3/4 cup garden peas

1. In a large fry pan cook the onion in the 1 Tbsp of fat until soft. 
2. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, allspice. Dredge the cubes of pork in the powder.
4. In the same fry pan you cooked the onion, heat the butter and the rest of the fat in the fry pan.
5. Brown the dredged meat in batches - this can take a while, allow for about a half hour. For the last batch, upend the entire bowl of remaining meat, including any leftover flour that hasn't stuck to the cubes. Brown the meat on all sides.
6. Deglaze with the beer, scraping up all the good brown stuff from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, and add the resting onion/garlic mix.
7. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and tuck in the herbs, then add the broth.
8. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes before adding the cabbage, celery and carrots (and peas if using).
9. Cook another 25-30 minutes, until the meat is fork-tender and the veg well cooked, and serve with crusty bread.