In an announcement probably making a lot of sense to many people, the owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon is allegedly in negotiations to purchase the Twinkies brand.  Speaking over a lunch of Cheetos, chili fries, pizza, three sodas, a few PBRs, some ribs, peanuts, a burrito and two orders of onion rings, Pabst owner C. Dean Metropoulos, tweeted* that he was going to up the hipster ante with Twinkies by offering free trucker hats** to any malnourished Brooklyn hipster effected by the sponge cake’s absence on shelves, and will be sponsoring a music festival “but like, in a totally unironic way”. Stay tuned! [qz]

In less snacky matters, the Wall Street Journal runs a feature on the growing trend amongst farmers in California making the switch to starting vineyards due to drought conditions and harsh weather. [Wall Street Journal]

We’re still #1! According to a recent study by VineExpo, the United States remains the top nation in the world for wine consumption overall, while falling behind China in the amount of red wine we consume. But squaring all things up, we still remain tops in purchasing bottles of wine that cost over $10, and we’ve also passed Mexico as the top tequila drinking nation in the world. We’re going to need those vineyards, it seems. [VineExpo]

Tennessee (that one state south of where all the bourbon is made) has the highest beer tax in the nation, roughly 12 percent higher than second-place Alaska. As a result, microbreweries have been stifled here. State legislators and lobbyists are currently working together to amend the situation, but it seems as if it may be an uphill struggle. Sorry, Tennessee! [Business Week]

And finally today, the good folks at Pacific Standard magazine were kind enough to bring this to our attention: an infographic discussing the alleged scam behind the art and science of wine tasting. This of course joins copious other articles written about the process, but it’s always interesting to hear new information on the matter. [Pacific Standard]

* He really didn’t tweet this.
** He really didn’t promise this, either. But even if he did, it’s 2013. Why on earth are you still wearing a trucker hat?

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