I bet Sean Paxton aka....The Homebrew Chef would probably know. He uses beer (homebrew and commercial) in a variety of recipes and puts on paid dinners.
That is interesting point but it is pretty much straight forward.
As long as you are making fermented malt beverage NOT for your own consumption, you need to pay tax on it / have a license. There is no wiggle room. Federal government supersedes any state and local ordinances. This means that state/ local government can make it more restrictive but NOT less restrictive.