wait, we are talking about portland OR right?
Once someone chimed in with the SE & NW, I figured it was OR. I wish people would be specific.
FYI - in Portland, ME - Old Port is the place to be!!
I think my response was as specific as the question posed. Portland is not a big city. The Willamette river essentially splits downtown into eastside/westside. Not to be overly general, but you do indeed get different vibes in the NW, NE, SW, SE parts of town if you use Burnside as your North/South division.
Like I mentioned before, if you stay close in (near the river) you can hardly go wrong. We have more than 40 craft breweries in town. Personally I don't really have a favorite because I enjoy trying different places. If I had to pick on the spot, I'd say go SE. Check out Hopworks (a bit farther out), The Green Dragon taproom for local and regional variety on tap and Cascade Barrel House if you like sour beers.