I have lost count of how many times people have said “extract brewing isn’t real brewing”.
Apparently if you don’t spend the best part of your day milling, mashing, lautering and sparging to produce your wort then you are cheating.
I say if the beer you produce taste great then who cares how you make it! I know of extract brewers who have won international awards for their creations like this one here by Santiago Aon.
Extract is a wort concentrate that has been made by a brewery. Here in New Zealand, these extracts are made in Dunedin and in some cases have had hops added at the boil to make a beer style base for home brewers. These bases allow the brewers to experiment by adding specialty malts and hops for steeping and dry hopping to change the flavour profile and aroma.
Extract brewing is typically quicker to make on brew days than all grain brewing, so if you have time restraints due to family or work commitments then putting a brew into a fermenter in less than an hour compared to 4-6 hours is very appealing. especially when the result is a great drinkable beer.