Things I Learned about Lamb Stew

I'd been wanting to make something winter-y lately; nothing specific, just a meat dish that cooks for a long time.
Feeling uninspired by the recipes I've got around, I went with a make-it-up-as-you-go lamb stew.

Some things I learned in the process:
-Lamb stew is pretty forgiving. There's better and worse, but if you include good ingredients and let it cook a while, it's probably going to be pretty good.
-Lamb stew is a great way of using up some of the veggies in the fridge that are on the verge of going.
-Using beer for much of the stew liquid is very tasty. I imagine that Guinness would be best, but it's not what we had in the house so it's not what we used.
-Lamb stew goes very well with egg noodles.

As for fine-tuning, and what I'd do differently:
-Lamb shoulder takes a long long time to cook, even in small pieces.
-Potatoes and carrots take a long time, too, but not *as* long. So, next time, I'm letting the lamb braise an hour before adding the potatoes and the carrots.