Ariel Elias was recently doing a set at Uncle Vinnie's Comedy Club Point Pleasant Beach -- and while she was in the middle of a bit ... a woman from the crowd interrupted her to start talking politics ... specifically, musing on who she voted for and landing on Joe Biden.

Things were definitely tense, but Ariel kept her cool and rolled with the punches ... shutting the lady down by clowning her -- which somebody else nearby didn't take very well.

Unclear who exactly did this ... but someone straight up threw a semi-full beer can up onstage and in Ariel's direction -- which only barely missed her head ... splattering against the wall and hitting the ground. She was shocked, as was just about everyone else.

You can hear what sounds like a man saying he's never coming back again, and what seems like a staffer telling him he can't do that. Then, Ariel picks up the beer ... and pounds it!!!

There's more to the story ... whoever threw that beer is apparently going to pay for it, because Ariel says the club is pressing charges against him. Unclear if cops were called that night and if he was arrested, but it appears Uncle Vinnie's isn't letting this one go.

As you can imagine, AE is getting a lot of kudos from those in the comedy world for how she handled this. Not only did she turn a crazy situation on its head, but she did it with so much humor ... even in the face of violence.