All good points so far, but I have to disagree with Orfy on this one.
Regardless of anyone else's opinion I consider myself a brewer. I use extract and steep grains. I will NEVER go all grain because (to me) it is a waste of time. I control the type and amount of DME I add to the water. This is called an additive art versus AGing where you boil down to a particular volume, which is called a subtractive art.
If you want to brew AG then have at it, but that doesn't mean an AGers brew tastes any better than someone who uses extract...different technique, same results. A moped can't go on the highway, but they can end up at the same destination as a race car. It just takes a little longer using a different route.
Hell, many brew pubs use extract now. Are they also not brewers? They have a diploma on the wall to prove they are. They spent a lot of money on the education and was awarded a certificate from an accredited institution so how can you/we say they are not?
To argue if a cook is really a cook or just someone who heats things up is a great comparison too.
A cook/chef does not receive live animals at their restaurant door. They are already dead, cleaned and packaged. Dessert ingredients come in 10# cans. Does he become a butcher just because he cuts a certain thickness of a steak? I don't think so. They may add a certain flair and art to the presentation, but in the end he is still just "heating" things up...sounds a lot like opening that can of soup that was mentioned earlier.
In the US it's legal for anyone to buy and mix up all the ingredients necessary to make beer, even the yeast. But you have to be 21 to add the yeast at the brew on the premises shops.
Orfy, you are entitled to your opinion, as we all are, but I just have to disagree with you on this subject.
We still cool?
As for growing your own hops goes, I have to agree with you. I grow my own hops, but I'm not a hop farmer. A hop farmer is not a brewer either, he's a hop farmer (unless he also brews).