The World Beer Festival has been canceled.

Daniel Bradford, publisher of All About Beer magazine, writes in a letter sent to Style that organizers struggled with “regulatory requirements and trade practices” as well as “internal company issues.”

“We concluded we could not create the type of beer tasting experience that would meet our standards, a reputation for quality beer tasting events that we have nurtured since 1996,” writes Bradford, whose magazine oversees the festival. “We would not have fulfilled our commitment to our customers or to the industry we have served for three decades.”

Ticket sales for the festival, which had been scheduled for June 18 at Browns Island, were not an issue, says spokeswoman Katie Boyer.

“He’s never had to cancel a festival in all his years of doing this,” she says. “It’s a shame and he’s pretty bummed about it. He still loves Richmond and says it’s a really great beer town with a lot of great beer restaurants.”

People who have bought tickets will be offered refunds or exchanges for World Beer Festivals in Raleigh, N.C., Durham, N.C., or Columbia, S.C.