Crossword Genius

It consumes juice and may take a sip out of the hogshead (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aphis

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'it consumes juice and may' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'a sip out of the hogshead' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'hogshead' could be 'h' (head letter of 'hogs') and 'h' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'sip' is 'pis' which is within the left over letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'take' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aphis that I've seen before include "Small insect" , "sucker?" , "Sap-sucking garden pest" , "Plant louse" , "Greenfly" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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