Life is too short to drink crappy beer. I know I could buy a six pack for the amount of money I just spent on this "Rochefort 8", but the taste is worth every penny.
There's plenty of variety in Portland. There's the farmhouse inspired offerings from Upright, a wide range of sour beers from Cascade, all the quirky experiments coming out of Burnside Brewing, and the strong, complex, barrel-aged from Hair of the Dog.
I'd wager that we have a greater diversity of beer being brewed in Portland than just about any other city on the planet.
Diversity? Maybe. Widely available diversity? No, not really. Going out to any random (non-brewery) bar, I see the same local breweries: Widmer, Deschutes, and Rogue. They all make rather hoppy beers (roughly in that order of increasing hoppiness). Plus, a lot of the smaller places follow the trend (e.g. Old Market in Multnomah Village).
I will admit it's probably easier for me to find beer that makes me happy in Portland than in almost anywhere else I've been. Partially this is a indication of how little I've travelled, but it's also a testament to the variety you can find here.
Homebrewed beer is surprisingly inexpensive, and easily beats any cheap beer.
Of course, I live in Michigan, and there's no shortage of good beer around here. My office is within spitting distance of the Founders taproom. :) (http://spv.yi.org/~scott/img/drpn!_mug.jpg)
