Has bitter associations, but contributes nothing in beer (4)
I believe the answer is:
aloe
'has bitter associations but contributes' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'nothing in beer' is the wordplay.
'nothing' becomes 'O' (O resembles 0).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'beer' becomes 'ale' (type of beer).
'o' put within 'ale' is 'ALOE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for aloe that I've seen before include ". . . . vera, soothing plant" , "Bitter drug from a leaf juice" , "Succulent plant (may be bitter!)" , "Succulent plant (4) 5532" , "Plant source of purgative drug" .)