Retro London alehouse bottles spirit (4)
I believe the answer is:
elan
'spirit' is the definition.
(I know that elan is a type of spirit)
'retro london alehouse bottles' is the wordplay.
'retro' says the letters should be written in reverse (retro is Latin for 'backwards').
'bottles' says the answer is hidden in the clue (bottling is a kind of containing).
'nale' is hidden within 'london alehouse'.
'nale' backwards is 'ELAN'.
(Other definitions for elan that I've seen before include "Impressive and energetic style" , "Snap" , "Grass with edible grains" , "Stylish enthusiasm" , "Dash in French lane" .)