Steve McCarthy
United Kingdom
Steve's Interests
Real Ale - CAMRA (campaign for real ale) Member and Festival Volunteer
Reading
Computers
Music
TV/Films
Sports - American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Baseball, Football
Crypto Collector and Trader
Sleeping
Steve's Team
Steve (Stevermac1966) is a member of the ePayTraffic team

  • Steve's Blog

  • Jan 12th 2023 at 5:23 AM
    Tip Of The Day

    4th place for Lady Nagin yesterday

    Next up we are going with

    Mabre in the 7.30 @ Chelmsford
    1pt Win @ odds of 9/4 returning £0.33

    See the full post here https://peakd.com/hive-126508/@stevermac1966/horse-racing-follow-the-tipster-winter-11th-jan-2023-rodbb4

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  • Jan 11th 2023 at 6:54 AM
    Tip Of The Day

    Just missed out yesterday with a 2nd place for The Imposter.

    Today we are going with

    Lady Nagin in the 1.45 @ Lingfield
    1pt Win @ odds of 18/1 returning £1.90

    Full post on peakd as always https://peakd.com/hive-126508/@stevermac1966/horse-racing-follow-the-tipster-winter-11th-jan-2023

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  • Jan 10th 2023 at 5:48 AM
    Tip Of The Day

    Today's selection is :

    The Imposter in the 2:10pm race @ Exeter
    1pt Win @ odds of 1/1 (evens) with an estimated return of £0.20

    Full post can be viewed on peakd here https://peakd.com/hive-126508/@stevermac1966/horse-racing-follow-the-tipster-winter-10th-jan-2023

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  • Jan 8th 2023 at 6:24 AM
    Tip Of The Day

    Grey Diamond fell at the third last, whilst in with a great chance of taking the win, so disappointment prevails again

    Today's selection is :

    Celtic Champion in the 1:30pm race @ Southwell
    1pt Win @ odds of 11/8 with an estimated return of £0.24

    Full post can be viewed on peakd here https://peakd.com/hive-126508/@stevermac1966/horse-racing-follow-the-tipster-winter-8th-jan-2023

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  • Jan 7th 2023 at 6:54 AM
    Tip Of The Day

    A disappointing 5th placed finish for yesterday's pick.

    Today's selection is :

    Grey Diamond in the 1:50pm race @ Sandown
    1pt Win @ odds of 9/4 with an estimated return of £0.33

    Full post can be viewed on peaked here https://peakd.com/hive-126508/@stevermac1966/horse-racing-follow-the-tipster-winter-7th-jan-2023

    Good Luck

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  • Jan 6th 2023 at 4:40 AM
    Tip Of The Day

    Got off to a flyer with Bolsover Bill coming home in first place and adding some winnings to the kitty yesterday!!! Yay!!!

    Today's tip

    6th Jan 2023 3:30pm Race @ Ludlow
    My Bobby Dazzler 1pt Win @ odds of 15/2 (or 8.5 if you prefer the US way .... )

    Fingers crossed for two in a row :)

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  • Jan 5th 2023 at 6:35 AM
    Tip Of The Day

    Anyone that knows me, knows I am into betting on the ponies - not too heavily mind you, just a little flutter and so I've decide to do a daily post here of the bet(s) I'm making.

    Feel free to follow the bet yourself, let me know if you make any profit, get better odds that i get if you do follow it, etc, etc.

    So without further ado lets jump in...

    5th Jan, 2023 1:30pm Race @ Ffos Las (Wales)
    Bolsover Bill 1pt Win (which for me equates to £0.10) @ odds of 2/1.
    Estimated Returns on £0.10 stake £0.30.

    If you decide to have a punt - GOOD LUCK!!!

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  • Apr 21st 2022 at 5:18 AM
    Gambling On Success

    Well time for a new post, posted, originally on peakd.com yesterday. Probably going to have to give some thought on how to display a table in here, as it's not the best, but we work with what we got. :)

    Hi to one and all.

    I've been tring to decide what my first betting based post should be about, even had a few ideas almost fleshed out but not quite ready to take the plunge with. Then the Baseball season started and I found inspiration...

    The team I follow are San Francisco Giants (the whys and wherefores I'll will leave for another post on the sportstalk community), admittedly from afar as I'm from the UK, but not so far away that that i can't keep up to date with the team's progress via the internet.

    So, here goes my idea...

    I'm going to bet the run-line on (almost) every game the Giants play this season. In addition i'm taking the Giants at -1.5 in every game, i.e I'm putting the Giants as favourite to win the game, and win it by at least 2 runs. Yes, even when the Bookies i use have the opposition involved at -1.5 (they actually give me the option to take other runline outcomes so i should get my choice on every game). My stake starts fairly small @ 10 pence a bet, which hopefully i can increase if results go my way, and given the odds i've been getting so far a winning bet will return slightly over double my stake.

    As of this morning (10:00am 20/4/2022 UK time) my results are,
    Opponent Result Bet Bet Result P/L Team Record Comments
    v Marlins W 6-5 0.10 @31/20 L -0.10 1-0
    v Marlins L 1-2 0.10 @29/20 L -0.20 1-1
    v Marlins W 3-2 0.10 @31/20 L -0.30 2-1
    v Padres L 2-4 0.10 @11/8 L -0.40 2-2
    v Padres W 13-2 0.10 @31/20 L -0.50 3-2 Took the Padres @ -1.5
    v Padres W 2-1 0.10 L -0.60 4-2
    v Guardians W 4-1 No Bet Placed -0.60 5-2
    v Guardians W 4-2 0.10 @29/20 W 0.24 -0.46 6-2
    v Guardians W 8-1 0.10 @13/10 W 0.23 -0.33 7-2
    v Mets L 5-4 0.10 @2/1 L -0.43 7-3
    v Mets L 3-1 No Bet Placed L -0.43 7-4

    So after 11 games i'm down a small amount, but it is early days. Oddly, the one time i actually followed the bookies and went against my Giants taking the Padres @ -1.5 the Giants totally smashed them 13-2. Should have stuck to my instincts on that one 😆.

    And there we have my first betting post, which I hope to be a weekly(ish) post now that i'm up and running, especially as the games come thick and fast throughout the season.

    Hoping you all have good fortune in whatever your chosen betting endeavours.

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  • Apr 6th 2022 at 7:30 AM
    Ale festival Follow Up #2

    Two Posts in a day ... lol

    Hi ale lovers everywhere,

    The Wetherspoon Real Ale Festival is here at last in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and its been going for 7 days. It's been a great start so far, at least as far as I'm concerned with 17 of the 25 on offer tasted and very much enjoyed. If you missed my inroduction post to the festival you can read it here Festival Intro

    So, cracking on...

    Since I've tried 17 out of 25 and not to make this an overly long post, i'll start with my review of my first 4 ales, all from my targeted challenge of 8 - the three international ales and five others that looked on paper patrticularly inviting.

    Sambrooks Brewery Tomahawk (4.2% ABV)

    Hops: Cascade, Citra, Simcoe

    Dark red in a clour with a lingering maltiness, refreshing dark fruit flavours and a slighty sweet and citrusy aftertaste. The tasting notes suggested toffee and bready flavours from the malt, but i didnt get much of that - perhaps hidden by the fruitiness. Overall a fantastic 1st ale and perhaps the sign of things to come. I scored it 9 out of 10.

    Birrificio Foglie d'Erba Hot Night in the Village (5.0% ABV)

    Hops: East Kent Goldings, Target

    Dark Mahogany in colour. Coffee & chocolate smacks you in the tastebuds from the very first sip with a hint of liquorice following on. I usually find porters a bit heavy drinking, but this is far from that and a very refreshing example of the style. My score 8/10.

    Young Henry's Brewery Young Henry's Real Ale (4.0% ABV)

    Hops: Galaxy, Topaz

    Light Copper in colour, touted as a take on the traditional English bitter style, but not as dark coppery. I found this to be pleasantly citrusy, but not overpowering, a slight spiciness and a decent lasting bitter aftertaste. As with the Tomahawk, didnt really get any of stated malty flavours of caramel and toffee, but that didn't stop my enjoyment of this very refreshing ale. My score - a strong 7/10

    Hook Norton Brewery Red Rye (4.7% ABV)

    Hops: Amarillo, Chinnok, Citra, Sovereign, Willamette

    Rich, fruity aroma. Well spiced, but not really getting much in the way of raisins as stated in the tasting notes. Deep fruity aftertaste, with an ever so slight citrus twist at the end of the mouthful. Another extremely refreshing ale and I gave it a score 8 out of 10.

    So a great start to my festival experience, and it's great to have this usually bi-annual event back in the calender after the obviously troubling times we've all been through the last two years.

    More reviews to come soon.

    If you're out and about in the UK/Ireland and get the chance to try these, or any of the other beers in the festival then im sure you'll be in for a treat.

    Cheers

    https://peakd.com/hive-187719/@stevermac1966/wetherspoon-real-ale-festival-follow-up-2

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  • Apr 6th 2022 at 7:28 AM
    Ale Festival Follow Up #1

    Hi folks,

    Bit late with this, but got it done anyway.

    A few days ago I posted about the upcoming Real Ale Fesival hosted at the Wetherspoon chain of pubs in the UK and Republic of Ireland. It's officially due to commence on Wednesday 30th March, featuring 22 Real Ales from around the UK and 3 from international brewers.

    However, I got a bit of a surprise on a recent visit to one of my usual watering holes, as I found that they had started early and had one of the festival ales available to try, and conveniantly it conicided with #BeerSaturday.

    So my first beer of the festival was Saltaire Brewery's lavishly titled Banquet (3.8% ABV). The supplied tasing notes describe it as a "new British session bitter, brewed exclusively for this festival is copper coloured and brewed with classic British hop varieties resulting in a honey-sweet and delicate spiced bitterness, balanced against a bready malt base".
    Hops used : Admiral, Challenger, Goldings

    My personal obversations are that it is a deep, clear copper coloured ale that has a light floral aroma, a not overpowering spicy flavour, and a pleasant sweetness on the tongue, The head, an off white colour, holds well down the glass. Extremely refreshing, and withs its relatively low ABV a definite winner for a "session" beer - I did go back for a second and totally enjoyed that one too. I scored it an 8 out of 10.

    So that's 1 down and a mere 24 to go. An excellent (allbeit early) start to the festival.

    Cheers and happy #BeerSaturday

    https://peakd.com/hive-187719/@stevermac1966/wetherspoon-real-ale-festival-follow-up-1-or-beersaturday-no-248

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  • Mar 23rd 2022 at 8:22 AM
    Festival Time (well almost)

    One of the highlights of the year for me in the UK, is the biannual Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival. Held in the spring and autumn of each year showcasing a range of ales from the around the UK, and even sometimes from international brewers.

    This years event runs from Wednesday 30th March until Sunday 10th April, featuring 25 real ales, 19 of which are either brand new recipes, or being brewed again exclusively for the festival (and thus are likely never to be available again). Included in the list this year, are 3 international ales - 1 each from the USA, Italy and Australia, the brewers being hosted by UK breweries (usually) to produce their wares.

    The USA is represented by Spike Buckowski, making a return to the festival, of the Georgia based Terrapin Brewery, hosted by Suffolk based Adnams Brewery, to produce a pale IPA, using Chinnok and Simcoe hops to give a "powerful blend of tropical fruit notes and a rich, resinous flavour, with subtle malt notes" called Terrapin Jazz (5.5% ABV)

    Gino Perissutti flies the flag for Italy and the Birrificio Foglie d'Erba with a mahogany coloured beer called Hot Night in the Village (5.0% ABV). Brewed in "the style of a traditional English porter with notes of coffee, chocolate and liquorice in the flavour leading to a refreshing, slightly herbal finish" . Hops used for this ale are East Kent Goldings and Target brewed by one of the UK's best breweries, Kent based Shepherd Neame to Gino's original recipe as the pandemic meant he couldn't travel.

    Similarly prevented from making the journey to the UK to brew for the festival due to the pandemic, is Australia's Young Henry's Brewery representative, Richard Adamson. However, Wolverhampton based Bank's Brewery accepted the task to brew Young Henrys Real Ale (4.0% ABV) to his original recipe, utilizing Ernest and Topaz hops. Made in the "traditional English best bitter style" it has a "solid malt backing of caramel and toffee, blanced by hints of spice and a mellow, deep citrus flavour, leading to a long bitter finish".

    In addition, to these ales, I've decided to shortlist 5 others that I'm particularly excited to try.

    Firstly, Cambridgeshire's Oakham Ales, with a new pale golden IPA Triple Beam (5.0%) offering "fruity hop flavours, with rich bitterness and fruit from the Summit hops, combining seamlessly with the spicy, zesty characteristics delivered by the Columbus hops"

    Tomahawk(4.2% ABV) from London based Sambrook's Brewery is next on my radar. A dark red ale "using a blend of" Cascade, Citra, and Simcoe hops "which delivers vibrant citrus and pine aromas and grapefruit notes, balancing the roast malt, toffee and bready flavours in its dark malt profile".

    Third comes a russet coloured ale from the Scottish Highlands - Cairngorm Brewery's Red Mountain (4.8% ABV). Roast crystal malt provides the colour and a nutty flavour, finished off with a blend of Columbus and Perle hops to give a fresh, fruity finish.

    Next up from Oxfordshire is Red Rye (4.7% ABV) from the Hook Norton Brewery. A red seasonal rye beer using a blend of 5 hops and 5 malt varieties combining to deliver dark fruit and citrus aromas, with flavours of dates and raisins, balanced by a citrus twist.

    And finally, but by no means least, Titanic Brewery with Nine Tenths Below (5.9% ABV). This honey golden beer delights the palette with initial sweetness that rapidly fades as the powerful citrus hops take over. Clean and refreshing in taste above the waterline the boldness and strength lurks beneath and there is more of it than you can imagine

    Whilst the ales i've discussed are all ones I am especially looking forward to trying, I will also be hoping to try all 25 on offer over the 12 days of the festival, which may seem not too diffcult a challenge, but since not all of the pubs in the Wetherspoons estate will have all of the beers on tap during the course of the Festival (i already know of one that will only have 15 of the 25 available) I expect to be doing some travelling to different venues to complete the task.

    Follow ups to this post will chart the progress to my goal, and personal obsevations about the beers i've tried.

    If you're in the UK and get the chance to have a taste of some of the ales on offer i'm sure you won't be disappointed (and since this is a Wetherspoons national event the price of the beers offer great value - £2.19 a pint in most places - perhaps a bit cheaper further north, with central London being a bit more expensive). There is also the opportunity to try 3 x 1/3pints for the price of a pint - great if you want to taste more than one.

    For now ... CHEERS!!!

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  • Mar 21st 2022 at 6:49 AM
    New Community

    Well I recently came across the Hive Blockchain, and its myriad of communities and opportunities for blogging and earning crypto from it.

    As a result i joined a community that allows me to indulge one of my passions - Real Ale - as they have a weekly challenge to discuss ales being enjoyed on a Saturday, and the story behind the event involved or the beer itself, although I need no excuse to enjoy ale on any day not just Saturday lol!.

    So here is my entry into that communities #BeerSaturday Challenge

    https://peakd.com/hive-187719/@stevermac1966/beersaturday-week-247

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  • Dec 9th 2021 at 7:26 AM
    Wow - It's been a while...

    Nearly three years since i made that first foray into posting a blog. And a heck of a lot has happened in that time, hasn't it.

    So I thought I better get this going again. But what to blog about...

    A long and hard think and i decided to share my journey through the crypto space.

    Now, I've been dabbling with collecting/earning crytpocurrency for a number of years, suffered the ups and downs that are synonomous with the volatility that comes with it, but still think/believe that this is the future.

    And with that belief in mind I'm going to share a number of the sites I'm currently using to build my stash of crypto.

    Today its the turn of Stakecube...

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  • Dec 22nd 2018 at 5:47 AM
    Lets Get Started ...

    Ok, So here we are a brand new blog, and time to write something.

    So to start off, a little about me ...

    I've been working Traffic Exchange and Mailers, and other sites for about 6 years now, had some successes, some failures as everyone does, but that, as they say is life.

    You've probably seen my ugly mug around a great many sites, and seen me promoting a wide variety of things, SFI, other TE's, Mailers, even crypto sites, as during that time i've joined a lot of things - cant get too much traffic after all.

    Outside of surfing, as you will see from my interests i have a passion for real ale (sometimes called craft beer) and work (volunteer) several beer festivals in the UK throughout the year. Volunteering for these events has two benefits, networking with fellow aleheads, and very often a good amount of free beer - always a plus in my book lol.

    Also into sports, particularly those those based in the USA, which thanks to the internet, are so much easier to keep up to date with thankfully, and follow these teams - NFL, New Orleans Saints (aka the who dat nation), NBA Charlotte Hornets, NHL San Jose Sharks, MLB San Francisco Giants.

    Also an avid reader, particularly thrillers and horror, with favourite authors including Lee Child, Stephen King, Clive Cussler and Jeffery Deaver to name a few. Music tastes vary depending on mood but i enjoy most from the 60's right through to the present day. TV/film similarly cover a wide range of genres probably dominated by thrillers, horror, historical dramas.

    So there we have me in a nutshell, and that's enough waffle for now lol.

    Catch you all later, somewhere around the TE world, and if you spot me come say hi!

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Jan 12th 2023 at 5:23 AM
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