I suggest you join a bomebrew club. There are plenty of them in Portland. There are also two over here in Vancouver. Platos Republic and Cascadia Brewers Alliance are the two in Vancouver. I'm a member of Cascadia Brewers Alliance.
Our Mission Statement is, "Preserving and advancing brewing as an art form through creative discussion, thoughtful analysis, sharing of knowledge, and responsible consumption."
We are all about sharing knowledge! It's the reason that I joined this particular club. There are no cliques in our club. All are welcome. We meet the first Thursday of every month at Loowit Brewpub in downtown Vancouver from 7 to 9 p.m.
Come down and meet us. Bring a homebrew to share. The theme for our September meeting is brews featuring adjunct ingredients. I'll be bring an Amber Ale with ginger, cinammon and bitter orange peel, another Amber Ale with pomegranate and cranberry and a Russian Imperial Stout with Tart Cherries, Millstone Velvet Chocolate Coffee conditioned on toasted french oak chips in Makers Mark Bourbon. The RIS scored 42.9 at the Clark County Fair homebrewing competition and one a blue ribbon.
You're also welcome to come to my home and brew. I have two of the bays in my four car garage set up as a little brewery.