Beer batch served up in delicate containers (9)
I believe the answer is:
porcelain
'delicate containers' is the definition.
(items made of porcelain)
'beer batch served up in' is the wordplay.
'beer' becomes 'ale' (I've seen this before).
'batch' becomes 'crop' (both mean an amount produced at the same time).
'served up' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'ale'+'crop'='alecrop'
'alecrop' backwards is 'porcela'.
'porcela'+'in'='PORCELAIN'
(Other definitions for porcelain that I've seen before include "Fine white ceramic" , "Fine earthenware" , "fragile goods" , "Fine white China" , "Form of ceramic" .)