To the bowl of your crockpot, add the butter, onions, garlic, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce. Stir everything together, cover the crockpot and cook on low for at least 8 hours or up to 14 hours. I like cooking the onions overnight while I sleep (note that I have noticed that all crockpots cook differently, if yours seems to cook fast, check the onions at 8 hours in to make sure nothing is burning).
The next morning, stir the flour into the onions and then add the beer (or wine), beef broth, bay leaves, thyme and a good pinch of pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. The longer and slower you can cook this the better. Taste and season with salt + pepper if needed.
