Crossword Genius

A lot of excellent beer in the end (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

finale

'the end' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a lot of excellent beer' is the wordplay.
'a lot of' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'excellent' becomes 'fine' (synonyms).
'beer' becomes 'ale' (I've seen this before).
'fine' with its final letter taken away is 'fin'.
'fin'+'ale'='FINALE'

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for finale that I've seen before include "In leaf (anag.)" , "Closing part of an entertainment" , "Denouement" , "Conclusion, end" , "Last act, movement" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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