So basically I write a review, and then tell the IRS that I'm a beer journalist, and that in order to do my job I need to deduct my beer costs? Brilliant!
Not so far off, keep searching for actual tax advice
In the mean time, understand that despite the popular understanding of taxes, the outcome is that the government is seeking to incentivize transactions.
So from their perspective, its not really about revenue collection and people pulling a fast one on them. They want you to spend in the economy. They want money flowing in the economy. The remainder of the hoarded money that isn’t spent is being subject to tax, so the government can figure out how to keep it moving instead. Its up to you to find transactions that reduce your tax burden, but they don't care if you choose the right or wrong transactions. They've set up a system to have a high velocity of funds flowing to all sectors of the economy without the state needing to steer it.
Understanding that can help you understand why it isn't hard to create these deductions.
People set up a business name and register it in a state and create a business bank account partially for separate accounting to make it simpler to pass an audit, and simpler to make it more convincing that an audit wasn't needed to begin with.
Well, more, I'm making the possibly unwarranted assumption that at least one of the founders, who were obviously into craft beer, may have homebrewed as well.
The big catch is that you basically have to earn money as a beer journalist--and, if you're at that level, you can probably get a lot of your beer paid for.
