Crossword Genius

Gold beer, brewed to contain spirit and a vegetable (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aubergine

'a vegetable' is the definition.
(I know that aubergine is a type of vegetable)

'gold beer brewed to contain spirit' is the wordplay.
'gold' becomes 'Au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold).
'brewed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to contain' indicates putting letters inside.
'spirit' becomes 'gin' (alcoholic spirit).
'beer' with letters rearranged gives 'bere'.
'bere' placed around 'gin' is 'bergine'.
'au'+'bergine'='AUBERGINE'

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for aubergine that I've seen before include "Purple vegetable" , "Vegetarians might order this" , "I argue, Ben, that it's a fruit" , "Fruit cooked and eaten as a vegetable" , "Edible plant" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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