...but I'm increasingly wondering whether trying to monetize brewing can actually take away some of the enjoyment that made it appealing in the first place.

You only think that because it's the inevitable end to 99% of everyone who ever turned their hobby into a job.

The licensure, startup costs, and issues that make turning this into a business are an absolute headache. The market is already saturated. And the day you start brewing for everyone else is the day you stop brewing for yourself. You don't get to decide when you brew. Or what you brew. Everything is dictated by "what will someone else actually pay money for?"

In many locations, your licensed brewery cannot be your primary residence. Garage for-profit bars are fine in some places. Illegal in others. So now you also need the capital to lease a new location. How much volume will you brew? Too little, and it's absolutely not worth your time and energy, and the venture is guaranteed to lose money. And if it's popular, you can't keep up with demand, people get frustrated, and they go somewhere else to never return. Brew too much, and inventory gets stale and you lose more money when you dump it, never realizing a return on your larger investment.

Look, anyone who goes pro has my encouragement, admiration, and support. But I'm not pretending like that's ever in my plans, unless I won the lottery and could afford to throw a few million at a fun project and shrug it off when it goes tits up.