Fine beer served up for African resident (5)
I believe the answer is:
okapi
'african resident' is the definition.
(animal native to Africa)
'fine beer served up' is the wordplay.
'fine' becomes 'ok' (synonyms).
'beer' becomes 'IPA' (India pale ale).
'served up' says the letters should be written in reverse (in a down clue, going upwards).
'ipa' written backwards gives 'api'.
'ok'+'api'='OKAPI'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for okapi that I've seen before include "Giraffe-related mammal" , "Central African animal" , "Wild animal" , "African mammal related to giraffe" , "Rare mammal" .)