The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word BEER BELLY
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
B
E
E
R
B
E
L
L
Y
More clues leading to the result BEER BELLY
- What identifies and precedes a stout drinker?
- The Budweiser Corporation?
- Head of Research taken on by Auntie Eleanor’s drink corporation?
- & 14d Buzzer’s what contestant may press to fill rapidly emptying pot
- One with buzz barely to be moved after swapping bit of alcohol for litre — showing evidence of this?
- Drunkard's corporation?
- Pot of ale in Rye: two English pounds given out for it?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "What identifies and precedes a stout drinker?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case what identifies and precedes a stout drinker? = beer belly.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.