Depression confined to beer firm (2,5)
I believe the answer is:
al dente
'firm' is the definition.
(Italian cooking term meaning firm or hard)
'depression confined to beer' is the wordplay.
'depression' becomes 'dent' (synonyms).
'confined to' is an insertion indicator.
'beer' becomes 'ale' (I've seen this before).
'dent' inserted into 'ale' is 'AL DENTE'.
(Other definitions for al dente that I've seen before include "Not overcooked" , "London area" , "not so easy on the teeth" , "How to cook pasta" , "Somehow cooked" .)