That’s pretty much where I am at now. I call it “semi-pro” brewing! With the new CA homebrew law I am donating/pouring a ton of beer at charity events. The tax deduction and t shirt sales make it a break even proposition for me plus as you mentioned I don’t have to deal with all the bs!
Interesting article but I have to disagree with “Some folks will try to hire their way out of the financial responsibilities of the company, but that seems like bad strategy to me.” As a bookkeeper specializing in microbreweries I think that having the accounting done right is priority. Yes, the owner needs to pay attention and be aware of the finances, but that doesn’t mean they have to do it all.
Not in any part of Europe I’m familiar with - Finland has far stricter alcohol regulations than the US. The situation varies country to country (like it does state to state over there), but even countries that are more lenient on alcohol sales have production of items for human consumption (which includes beer) highly regulated.