I live in Redlands, CA. I started like most people, brewing extract. I did two batches with specialty grains to steep and proceeded directly to all-grain.
What helped me take the plunge into all grain was participating in a forum like this one and attending a couple all-grain brews. It didn't seem as hard or as complicated as I thought. It's pretty darned easy and lots of fun. The main reward, for me, is sharing good beer with friends that appreciate the flavor of real beer.
I also learned right away that bottling really sucked. No offense intended to people that bottle, but that wasn't for me. I bought a used kegging setup, a used fridge and have been enjoying kegged beer ever since. I plan to get a counter pressure bottle filler for give-aways, but haven't been so generous as to want to give any away yet!
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