Playful old chef using lime tips in beer (7)
I believe the answer is:
jocular
'playful' is the definition.
(I know that playful can be written as jocular)
'old chef using lime tips in beer' is the wordplay.
'tips' suggests taking the first letters (tip can refer to the top end of something).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'beer' becomes 'jar' (I've seen this before).
The first letters of 'old chef using lime' is 'ocul'.
'ocul' going inside 'jar' is 'JOCULAR'.
(Other definitions for jocular that I've seen before include "funny" , "Humorous or playful" , "Humorous, joking" , "With jokes and good humour" , "Given to telling gags (and having fun)" .)