Funny, I just did a beef stew yesterday. Dredged the beef cubes in flour and dry spices, then seared them to achieve the Maillard reaction. Added to the crock pot, with beer, tomato juice and veggies. Cooked on low for 3 hours. If I were using fresh herbs, I would put them in towards the end of the cooking time to get the aromatics. GwynethB