Who of you started with extract and moved to all-grain and who stayed with extract?
Started with extract, moved to all grain within a year.
Did like three or four extract batches and then jumped to all grain.
First batch ever was a True Brew Belgian ale kit. I’d venture a guess that kit sat on the shelf for months if not years when I bought it in 2009. I still have the box from the kit that I use for storing small stuff in brewing storage. The beer wasn’t too bad for an old kit with hops stored at room temperature that I fermented in the middle of summer when my apartment was closing in on 80F inside.
My first AG batch was a brown ale recipe that I screwed up with salt additions by accidentally leaving the scale on ounces instead of grams. Ended up with a very salty beer that eventually tasted like the liquid in a can of black olives.
I feel this question is era dependent. Maybe not.
I started brewing in the mid-late 90’s with extract and then extract/steeping grains. Quit brewing for 20 years but came back when I read about BIAB (all grain). In my opinion, I think those taking up the hobby today could easily go straight to all grain with BIAB or an AIO as they are hardly any more difficult than extract.
First 2 batches were pre hopped kit & kilo. After that went to extracts for a few batches before moving on to all grain. Now I do both extract & all grain, depending on the beer and how I feel.
I started with extract. I had already been making mead with my wife when she bought me a kit for oatmeal stout. I probably did extract for a year then I got Palmer’s How to Brew and a cooler mashtun.
Started with extract, got the equipment to do all grain and did plenty of that. Still do extract batches from time to time because it simply saves time. I have a bag of extract in my refrigerator right now, 7 lb.
Started with extracts. Figured out equipment needs for ~4 years and then started all grain for the next 22 years (and counting).
Paul
I started with extract but once I found out about BIAB I went to all grain. The size of the equipment for 3V all grain was a deterrent.
Brewed with extract for about 4 years before going to all grain. Only the first couple batches were full extract. Many other batches were with steeping grains or partial mash before I finally went all grain. I have brewed a few extract batches over the years since then, and they turn out well… but probably not as good as all grain IMO.
Brewed with extract for many years. Eventually went to all grain, but had to give it up due to a ruptured disc. Later tried all grain again doing BIAB (thought the simplicity would make it acceptable). Still no good. Went back to extract. It’s been a little frustrating, but I’m still brewing.
I agree with Megary that the era when you started will probably affect how you started.
I started about four years ago and planned to go all-grain (BIAB), but did a few extract kits first mostly to iron out some brew day logistics. So, I don’t know if you’d want to consider that as starting with extract or not. 
I have brewed the occasional extract kit since because they can be convenient and the beer still turns out well.
Started with extract in October 1990. Became a trucker in May 1993 and didn’t brew for nearly twenty-five years. Have done a few from unhopped malt syrup and presently have enough mr. beer tins on-hand to do five or six two-can batches. I have two of the mr. beer LBKs, but want to make more than just two gallons per batch. My twelve-gallon feed bucket will allow me to ferment up to nine gallons at a whack. The first two gallons will go directly from the primary into the bottles. The remaining six will be bottled with the seventh gallon to go down the drain. The very bottom gallon is sacrificed because I expect to see a rather thick layer of yeast sludge there, so around the p-trap it goes…
Will never do the all-grain thing; far too much work for a retired trucker with no time on his hands…
I brewed extract batches for a year and then moved on to all-grain for about 20 years.
I did one extract kit then switched to BIAB for ~3 years then switched back to extract for a while and am now switching back to BIAB.
Please define. Thank you…
Three-vessel brewing: hot liquor tank, mash tun, brew kettle.
OK. Had no idea, what with not being an all-grain brewist…
You don’t really need three vessels, biab requires 1, and I’ve done it for decades with only two. A kettle and a mash tun. I put the heated strike water and grain into the mash tun and heat the sparge water in the kettle. I sparge into a six and a half gallon bucket till I can get all the sparge water into the mash tun and then dump the bucket into the kettle again. I don’t have a sculpture and I have never used pumps.
I would say extract saves about an hour and a half, but if you’re steeping a bunch of grains, that time is even a little less. And this post wouldn’t be complete without recommending you try biab at least once. You can try it with literally nothing other than a bag, the cost of which is immediately offset, at least in part, by the savings on the malt.
+1.
Seriously. If you can do extract with steeping grains, you can do BIAB with the same hardware (plus a bag, of course).