…and beginners, and club brew sessions, and holiday parties, technical talks at meetings, festivals, sensory training, equipment building, trading, sharing, socializing, networking… you get the idea.
With any luck the snobs will be in the club and you can taste some real homebrew! 
You will find so many advantages and benefits to being in a club. Give it a shot and I think you will find that people will be just as open and friendly as this forums.
I bet the guys you ran into aren’t in a club. They don’t seem to play nice with others.
Rustyl, I have to catch myself when I brew with friends who are solely extract guys not to say something that might be taken the wrong way. But these guys went way beyond even a mild tease in your case. I have friends who do all grain some of the time and extract other times. Frankly, many times, if I am stepping up a batch through starter to 2.5 gallon to 5 gallon, I will do extract for the 2.5 gallon step, just to be quicker and easier. Bigger batches justify the time of an all grain brewing session, typically for me, but not always. So I see no reason to downgrade a person, just because he or she doesn’t do it the way the “pro’s do it”. Heck, I don’t do a lot of things the way the pro’s do. Because I am a homebrewer and so are you!
I don’t believe you’re a brewer unless you hand pull the water out of a well, grow and malt your own grain and hops, manage your own yeast cultures … I’m kidding.
Seriously, EVERY brewer - including most pro’s - chooses some parts of the process to outsource. Extract brewers have someone else mash for them, but all grain brewers have someone else malt grain for them. Malting was once an integral part of the brewing process. Some people manage their own yeast, most just buy vials or packets. And hops - where’s the art if the package tells you the AA levels, etc. Or how about recipe formulation? So - don’t sweat the a—oles.
So my point is - producing beer from raw ingredients is a multi-step process and deciding that ONE part is what makes you a brewer is bunk.
And I think most folks here would agree with this - Mashing is the ‘sexy’ part of brewing, but it’s not the hard part, and it’s not the most critical part. Fermentation control is the harder/critical part of making quality beer. When people want to go all-grain to improve their beer, I encourage them to look at improving yeast health and fermentation control (temperatures) first. That will provide a lot more benefit (though I don’t know if anyone ever listens).
And this…
+1 to all mtnrockhopper said. The difference between a good beer and a not so good beer is more often than not fermentation.
And I’ve had that far side cartoon on my beer fridge for like 10 years! Classic!
You are absolutely a brewer and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. They were being elitist dbags, not to make you feel bad about yourself, but to make themselves feel superior. Bullies are everywhere unfortunately, but you don’t need to be around them, and quite honestly, they don’t deserve the privilege of your company.
I started with a Mr. Beer kit and made some of the crappiest beer on earth, but opening that first bottle when it was done was just as exciting as the last all-grain batch I brewed 13 yrs later.
This forum is the home to some of the most generous, down-to-earth and kindest people you will ever meet and you are more than welcome to be a part of it without judgment or ridicule. In fact, if you didn’t immediately notice it, there is a whole forum section dedicated to extract brewing filled with people ready to answer your questions and share your experiences with.
I hope your experience doesn’t tarnish your view of the hobby and just know that we are all here for you if you need any help.
Welcome to the family, cheers!
Tony
With more and more people homebrewing you will probably see more of this. We have jerks show up to club meetings now and then. They come in thinking they know everything and start belittling others, then a BJCP judge may comment on a flaw in their beer, not to be mean but to educate, and they take extreme offense to it. I think I saw this happen twice in 5 years. Very few people make a beer with no flaws if they are trying to make a certain style. I love doing all grain but if it is just a rainy day and want something to do for a few hours I usually do a partial mash from a kit I got for Christmas, spare grains I have laying around or make some mead. Can I taste a difference between partial and full mash? Yes. Do they both taste good? Yes. Do what makes you happy man. I do not consider brewing with extract brewing, or at least how I do it, but more of a steeping process but I can tell you there are extract brewers out there who can whoop my ass any day of the week with some of their beers.
Reading about your experience really frustrates me and sadly these people exist in every community. It really sucks that you experienced that. Correct me if I’m wrong but the point of a club is for like minded individuals to come together and share insight and experiences, not to ridicule. It shouldn’t matter if you are just starting out, been brewing for years, extract, all grain, etc.
I can’t really add anything to what has already been said. You will find bad apples in every batch. I’ve been doing this for 16 years, 5 - 6 solely extract with grains. I went to all-grain to prove I could and found out it isn’t that much different. It just takes longer. 8^)
Ask anything you wonder about here. There is a rather large base of knowledge on this forum on a vast number of subjects, not just beer.
Welcome and come back often.
Paul
BIAB is the cheapest way to go all grain.
This is more, get a blue cooler (forum joke).
http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/
Even more is a 3 vessel system with all the bells and whistles.
The is a really good group of gals and guys in the Cass River Homebrew Club, hope that is not too far for you.
Come to NHC in Grand Rapids next June and you’ll be exposed to nearly 4000 new friends who definitely consider you a brewer!!
Only 286 days to go! ;D
It’s not a joke…it’s science!! ;D
Wow everyone. Thank you all again for the great posts and support.
The is a really good group of gals and guys in the Cass River Homebrew Club, hope that is not too far for you.
http://crhbc.com/pages/about-us.php
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Not too far. I know Milford very well. I work very closely with the village and township. I’ll look you guys up.
Dude Jeff, you could have told the guy I’m from Flint. I sent you a PM buddy. 
I just figured you were going to show up soon, Mike.
Hey Rusty, if you see those guys again, and they are bragging about all grain, ask them about how they do triple decoctions or turbid mashes. 
They sound like a bunch of bratty n00bs. I always encourage people to go all grain because some think it’s harder than it actually is, but there are space/money/time limitations that you need to prioritize. Sounds like you’re already well on your way to it, and are already brewing great beer.
I brewed extract for 20 years. Only switched over to all-grain about 3 years ago. While I was still extract brewing, someone said to me I wasn’t really brewing unless I went all-grain. I replied that it was funny how I had 6 kegs of beer on tap at home that I guess I hadn’t actually brewed. He conceded my point. 8)
FWIW, all grain doesn’t have to be expensive. Check out www.dennybrew.com
I’ll just echo what everybody else has said. A member of the club I belong to won the Texas Bluebonnet competition with an extract brew. I have a friend here who brews all grain but his beers generally are subpar because he racks to kegs in either 7 or 14 days depending on the OG of the beer and ferments everything at room temp(over 75F ambient) and he refuses to listen or read any recent brewing literature.
In my opinion the most important aspects of brewing take place post boil so it really doesn’t matter where you get the wort.
Like an earlier poster I brewed extract w/grains for several years until I quit my full time job and became a consultant. I also had less money for a while but a whole lot more time to dedicate to brewing and drinking. My first 6 years of all grain brewing were essentially wasted because I had no idea fermentation temp control made much difference. That was the the concept that changed the quality of my beer, not how I produced the wort.