1. drink brewed from malt: an alcoholic drink brewed by fermenting malt with sugar and yeast and flavouring it with hops
2. quantity of beer: a drink or glass of beer
3. herbal drink: a fizzy or slightly fermented drink made from or flavoured with the roots, leaves, or seeds of a plant ginger beer
[ Old English bēor< late Latin biber 'drink' < bibere 'to drink']
Spelling Note
beer or bier? Do not confuse the spelling of beer and bier, which sound similar. Beer is a drink (as in a glass of beer, ginger beer), whereas a bier is a stand for a coffin.