Conservative on the beer – smart man? (4)
I believe the answer is:
alec
'smart man?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'conservative on the beer' is the wordplay.
'conservative' becomes 'c' (abbreviation commonly used in UK politics).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the beer' becomes 'ale' (I've seen this before).
'c' after 'ale' is 'ALEC'.
(Other definitions for alec that I've seen before include "Smart chap" , "A smart . . . . is a know-all in lace" , "Sir - Douglas-Home, former PM" , "Boy's name (a smart one?)" , "Sir -- Guinness, actor" .)