Nice bit of cider for a villager having no beer (5)
I believe the answer is:
civil
'nice bit' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'cider for a villager having no beer' is the wordplay.
'cider for' becomes 'ci' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'having no' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'beer' becomes 'lager' (type of beer).
'villager' with 'lager' removed is 'vil'.
'ci'+'vil'='CIVIL'
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for civil that I've seen before include "Nonviolent refusal to obey laws" , "Courteous, polite" , "Relating to citizens" , "Urbane" , "Not rude" .)