In this week’s Last Call: Canada lifts its tariff on U.S. aluminum cans; farmers and brewers downplay climate change’s effect on beer production and pricing; the Brewers Association lands Iron Maiden’s singer as CBC keynote speaker; and more news from the week.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: A study finds the economic impact of San Diego brewers exceeds $1 billion; the Brewers Association analyzes GABF winners; a price-fixing probe in India snares A-B InBev, Carlsberg and United Breweries; and more news from the week.

Buffalo Wild Wings’ presence at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival was merely an appetizer. The chicken wing restaurant, one of the largest chains in the U.S., will be regular menu item at numerous Brewers Association (BA) events over the next two years, including the 2019 GABF, the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) and Homebrew Con. Its presence at additional BA events is part of a three-year sponsorship agreement with the trade group, Buffalo Wild Wings beverage innovation manager Jason Murphy told Brewbound.

Want to stand out at the Great American Beer Festival? Open your checkbook. At the 2019 GABF, put on by industry trade group the Brewers Association, large activations from deep-pocketed corporations took center stage, drawing throngs of beer drinkers to sprawling setups that included TVs, bar games and live music while 800 breweries pouring 4,000 beers scrapped for attention inside the Denver Convention Center.

In an effort to curb beer’s dwindling share of the broader alcohol market, three major trade associations — the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), the Brewers Association (BA) and the Beer Institute (BI) — have formed a group tasked with improving the health of the beer segment. During the NBWA’s annual convention Monday, outgoing chairman Jim Matesich announced the the formal launch of the “Beer Growth Initiative.” The effort is being spearheaded by alcoholic beverage consultancy Tamarron, along with leaders from the NBWA, BA and BI who are serving on a steering committee.

Wine and spirits brands are cutting into the growth of the craft beer segment, according to Patrick Livingston, director of client insights for market research firm IRI. Livingston, who led yesterday’s Power Hour presentation hosted by the Brewers Association (BA), said craft beer dollar sales were up just 1.7 percent in IRI’s multi-outlet off-premise U.S. retail universe (excluding convenience stores) through July 8. Livingston added that craft has begun to plateau in off-premise channels, with volume sales leveling off since late March.

A record 7,000 breweries will be in operation in the United States in 2018, Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson shared Thursday during the opening session of the California Craft Brewers Association’s Craft Beer Summit, Expo and Beer Festival in Sacramento. Watson called it a “virtual certainty” that the industry will reach that milestone this year, and more breweries are on the way with more than 9,000 active permits filed with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau at the midway point of 2018.

Want to know what a craft beer drinker looks like in America? According to Nielsen, a weekly craft drinker is predominantly male, ages 21-34, and makes between $75,000 and $99,000 annually. Although that’s the profile of a frequent craft drinker, opportunities exist to reach a more diverse group of consumers, according to the research firm, which today shared the results of its fourth annual Craft Beer Insights Panel (CIP) survey, conducted by Harris Poll and commissioned by the Brewers Association (BA).

In this week’s Last Call: A look at California beer production; Sen. Schumer backs permanent excise tax cuts; TTB accepts $20,000 offer in compromise from Cigar City; and more beer industry news.

The Brewers Association (BA) announced a sponsorship deal earlier this week to feature a Buffalo Wild Wings branded pop-up sports bar on the floor of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), its marquee tasting and judging event held annually in Denver. The partnership with the chicken wing chain, which was acquired last November by Arby’s for $2.9 billion, is the second major sponsorship deal for the late September festival. In early June, the BA announced that Pernod Ricard-owned Jameson would build a barrel-aged beer garden on the festival floor.

Nearly a full year has elapsed since the Brewers Association (BA) introduced its independence seal, and the not-for-profit trade group that represents the interests of small and independent craft breweries has been keeping tabs on adoption rates across the U.S. A graphical representation of seal adoption across states and U.S.-owned territories, through June 6, which was produced by the BA and obtained by Brewbound, breaks down which regions are using the seal.

Nearly two years after the Department of Justice (DOJ) signed off on Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (ABI) $100 billion takeover of SABMiller, the government agency still has not completed its review of the merger. The DOJ and ABI filed a joint motion on March 15 asking U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan to approve the “proposed final judgment.” However, several groups have objected to the judgment, as it is currently written, and are now seeking a hearing in order to resolve anti-competitive concerns.

One week after being named the Brewers Association’s new diversity ambassador, Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham presented to hundreds of Craft Brewers Conference attendees about the challenges of diversifying the brewing industry. “We all want to diversify craft beer,” she said, “but why is doing this so hard?”

In today’s craft beer environment, it pays to be a startup. According to Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson, breweries founded after 2014 are driving the majority of segment growth. Those breweries collectively added 916,000 barrels to the category in 2017, which represents growth of 52.6 percent versus 2016. Breweries founded before 2014, however, added 285,000 barrels to the craft segment and collectively grew just 1.3 percent.