1. The first beer festival only for black-owned breweries took place in Pittsburgh over the weekend. Fresh Fest was founded by Day Bracey and Mike Potter to emphasize the need for more diversity among brewers and drinkers. "There is an overrepresentation of white folks on both the production and the consumption side," said J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, the Brewers Association's first-ever diversity ambassador. Mike Potter estimates that of the more than 6,300 breweries operating in the U.S., only 50 are owned by African-Americans. – NPR

2. Brewers are receiving mixed messages from suppliers about can availability in the wake of U.S. aluminum tariffs. Longmont, Colorado-based CanSource told its customers in June that the entire nation was facing a shortage due to producer Crown Holdings' missed projections, which underestimated demand by one billion cans. Some brewers have said they have heard of can shortages, but have not experienced any ordering difficulties themselves. Colin McDonnell, co-founder of HenHouse Brewing said he believes supply should be back to normal by September. Chicago-based Berlin Packaging is recommending brewers provide a 4 to 6 month lead time on can orders. Demand for aluminum cans has increased sharply in recent years—market research firm IRI reports that off-premise sales of can products more than doubled from 2015 to 2017 with an increase from $419 million in sales to $932 million. – GOOD BEER HUNTING

3. Two established events that have traditionally taken place during the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) have been canceled or postponed. Crooked Stave's What the Funk!? Invitational has been postponed to a later date so that the six-year-old event does not get "lost in the shuffle of GABF week." Beers Made By Walking, an event featuring beers with foraged ingredients, will not take place this year, according to festival organizers. – PORCH DRINKING

1. The category of Juicy or Hazy IPAs received more entrants than any other category for the competition component of the Great American Beer Festival. The style was introduced in March as an official category by the Brewers Association. "This marks the first time in over a decade and a half that American-Style India Pale Ale — which received 331 entries — is no longer the top entered beer style in the U.S. commercial beer competition," wrote BA craft beer program director Julia Herz in a post on the trade association's website. Another 292 beers were entered into the Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale and Double IPA categories. – BREWBOUND

2. Goose Island has released this year's official Bourbon County Brand Stout variants following a diversionary campaign featuring fake federal label approvals. According to labels filed this summer with the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Goose planned to release a Horchata-inspired stout and a Neapolitan stout. Beer writer Josh Noel says, citing an anonymous source, those labels were meant to obfuscate the actual Bourbon County variants, which will include Midnight Orange, Coffee Barleywine, and Vanilla Stout, along with 5 others. – TRIBUNE

3. Following this week's Q2 report of a 2% revenue increase for the Craft Brew Alliance, the company announced plans to continue increasing spending on its Kona brand. CEO Andy Thomas told investors and analysts that the company is at its "strongest operational and strategic position" ever, and that it has "a clean balance sheet with solid cash flow and generous financing capacity and a stronger talent base." CBA plans to spend into the 7-figures on continuing to grow the Kona brand this year. Thomas added that the company will work to emphasize its Widmer Brothers' Hefe brand, while also continuing to evaluate the recent downsizing of the Redhook brand. – BREWBOUND

4. A federal appeals court rejected an antitrust challenge concerning AB-InBev's 2016 megamerger with SABMiller. The judge noted that SABMiller had sold its U.S. beer business to Molson Coors to satisfy antitrust issues from the $107 billion merger. "The court overlooked the elephant in the room: that the 72 percent of the market that was occupied by ABI, SAB and Molson is now occupied by two," said Joseph Alioto, the plaintiffs' attorney. Alioto plans to ask a panel of appeals judges to revisit the case. – REUTERS

5. A European heat wave has dried up many of the traditional food sources for wasps, leading some to seek sustenance at outdoor drinking establishments. Wasps turn to fermenting fruit if the hive larvae they typically feed on is unavailable. With fruit struggling because of the heat wave, wasps are seeking out sugar in alcoholic beverages at outdoor pubs and patios in England. "Wasps can’t handle their booze, so they get tanked-up and fighty -- like lager louts," said Shane Jones of RidTek Pest Control. – THRILLIST

6. Houston-based Saint Arnold is discontinuing its Weedwacker hefeweizen. The brewery first introduced the beer in August 2010. "This was a hard one but it's something we considered for a long time as Weedwacker is one of our most award-winning beers but it really stayed as one of our lowest-selling, unfortunately," said the brewery's CMO Lennie Ambrose. – CHRON

4. Arrow Lodge Brewing in Los Angeles has received a cease and desist letter from Major League Baseball (MLB) concerning the brewery's Clayton Kerhop beer. The brewery believes it has a strong case against the MLB for its beer made in tribute to Dodgers' pitcher Clayton Kershaw. The parody or tribute exception to copyright law could provide an out for some brewers using pop culture references to brand their products as trademark infringement cases in the beer world become more common. – THE FULL PINT

5. Ontario, Canada's new conservative government plans to lower the minimum price of a beer from $1.25 to $1. The new minimum price will apply to beers containing less than 5.6% alcohol content. It will be up to the province's 260 brewers to decide whether or not they want to implement the new pricing. – GUARDIAN

6. California is considering allowing brewers to give bars branded glassware. Any gift from a producer or distributor that is greater than inconsequential value is currently illegal in the state. The state of Florida passed a similar law allowing the dispensation of branded glassware from distributors and brewers earlier this year. – ASI

1. MillerCoors has canceled its Two Hats brand just six months after premiering the discount flavored beer line. The fruit-flavored lagers were developed for "tough-to-reach 21 to 24-year-olds." Since debuting in February, the lime and pineapple flavored lagers have done less than $1 million in sales for the beer giant. Sales of the product will end at the beginning of next year. – FORTUNE

2. Abnormally warm temperatures in Northern Europe this summer could lead to a poor barley harvest. According to Evergrain Germany, yields in Scandinavia, Northern Germany, and countries bordering the Baltic Sea could be 30% to 40% less than previous years. The European Union is expected to have a shortage of 490,000 metric tons of barley this year, the first shortage in 8 years. According to Stefan Vollmar, a trader at Germany's GrainCom GmbH, some of the country's brewers are already considering preemptively raising prices. – BLOOMBERG

3. Beer rating app Untappd has added a direct messaging feature between users. The app allows beer drinkers to check-in at locations, record different beers consumed, and rate them on a 1 to 4 star system. The new update also features additional language function that now supports English, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. – ENGADGET  

4. Off-premise sales for the Canarchy collective of craft breweries were up 15.4% for the first half of 2018. The number outpaces the Brewers Association's reported overall growth of 5% for the craft segment during the same time period. The collective, which is backed by private equity firm Fireman Capital, now operates 10 breweries throughout the U.S. and is the country's 9th largest craft brewery. – BREWBOUND

5. Denver-based Crooked Stave announced plans for a second location in Fort Collins, Colorado. Owner Chad Yakobson initially started the company in Fort Collins in 2010, which is also the home of his alma mater, Colorado State University. Yakobson currently serves on the advisory board for the school's Fermentation Sciences program and says he intends to collaborate with students and faculty on the pilot system. The new Crooked Stave location will be in a 3,000 sq. ft. facility in the city's Old Town neighborhood. – THE FULL PINT

6. The Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) announced a revenue increase of 2% to $61.8 million for the second quarter. The company attributed the revenue bump to increased depletions of the Kona brand and higher average pricing. Overall, CBA has seen net sales rise 4% for the first half of 2018. The craft conglomerate's sales were led by Kona's Big Wave Golden Ale, which saw an increase of 22% this quarter. – BREWBOUND

2. Canadian craft brewers say that U.S. aluminum tariffs have led to a shortage of cans for beer production. Following the announcement of the tariffs, large soft drink producers stocked up on aluminum cans leading to a supply shortage for craft brewers. Approximately 50% of Canadian craft brewers can their beers. Luke Harford, president of Beer Canada, said the tariffs will cost the industry $10.5 million this year. – TELEGRAPH

3. Castle Island will open a beer garden at Boston's Constitution Wharf after being denied a permit for a site in Boston's South End. The brewery will now have a 6,000 sq. ft. space, with capacity for 300, and serve from a 20-tap draft beer trailer. The Boston Police Department would not issue a permit for the original space over safety concerns. – BREWBOUND