Must-see Portland breweries (I've bolded a couple that I really think you shouldn't miss):
Sour/wild/funky nerds: Upright Brewing, Cascade
German-style nerds: Wayfinder, Zoiglhaus, Widmer, Von Ebert, Culmination
IPA nerds: Breakside, Great Notion (hazy), Culmination/Ruse, 10 Barrel (the PDX-made stuff), Von Ebert.
English-style nerds: Harder to find, but Baerlic makes a great bitter. I know a lot of older school people will say Hair of the Dog. If you're a fan of porters: Ecliptic -- John Harris designed the original Black Butte Porter and his Capella is amazing.
For a day trip: Go to pFriem in hood river. You will not regret it.
To briefly touch on the malt debate: Our all-Mecca grade helles took gold at NHC regionals last week, and our all-Mecca pale ale took gold at regionals last year. Also, our hefes with all mecca wheat and pelton have been the best we've ever made. I'm not paid to promote it and YMMV. Looking forward to the upcoming brulosophy coverage, but I've definitely noticed a difference in side by sides. I can even see the difference in the bag: No gross black kernels, no chaff, all tightly uniform color etc.