Beer vs Graff difficulty question

OK, i'm about to pitch batches 3, 4, and 5 of Graff this weekend. I've always told myself I'd start out with brewing cider because it seemed easier than beer, then when i get good at that I'll add beer to my repertoire.

Well, now that I've started making Graff it seems like it's getting a lot closer to making beer. It there a lot more equipment or time required to take the next step?

My favorite beers are brown ales and stouts, so those are the types of recipes i would be doing. I don't know if that would require mashing or if I can do it just using extracts and steeped grains. Mashing seems like an extra level of complexity i don't really want to tackle right now.

Sure, you can make extract/steeping brown ale and stout recipes. Go for it!

Don't let mashing scare you away from all-grain, though. It's really nothing more than soaking grain in hot water.

I brewed my beers for many years, all as extract batches. I finally moved up to all grain after accumulating the necessary vessels to do so. There is nothing wrong with any of it. I just started making cider, so this is very simple to me.
Enjoy it the way you want to brew, and the type of beers you want to make. When it's time for you to move up to all grain, you will know. There is no hurry.

Good luck

Heck, the first full size kit I ever did was a brown ale that was all extract, no steeping grain, with a single bittering hop addition and it turned out pretty good. If you're willing to take the minor extra step of steeping a little grain, you'll be making some decent browns and stouts before you know it.