Jerome Dennison, 41, of Grand Rapids, was the first in line this year for the Black Friday release of Goose Island's coveted Bourbon County Stout. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Ed Komenda

LINCOLN PARK — Jerome Dennison might be the nuttiest beer nut in the parking lot.

The 41-year-old I.T. pro drove down from Grand Rapids, Mich., Wednesday afternoon with his daughter's boyfriend, set up a tent in the corner of the parking lot of Binny's Beverage Depot and spent the night on an air mattress so he could be first in line for a special Black Friday release of his passion brew:

Goose Island's coveted Bourbon County Stout.

"Eh," Dennison said. "It's only three hours."

That's a three-hour drive ... followed by a 36-hour wait.

But no wait would be too long to snag a case of the Bourbon County Stout, said Dennison, who stood in line Thursday afternoon with about a dozen other beer enthusiasts.

Jerimiah and Jennifer Larrison traveled from the Quad Cities to get a couple bottles of Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Ed Komenda

Dennison fondly remembers the first time he had a taste: "It blew my mind."

First made in 1992, Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout is aged in bourbon barrels. A sip of this stuff offers chocolate notes and what beer geeks call "spice" — a mellow burn in the chest. Imagine a shot of bourbon turned down nine notches from 10.

"It's a little boozy," said Jerimiah Larrison, 40, who traveled three hours to Lincoln Park from the Quad Cities. "It's just a barrel-aged stout ... It's really good."

On the menu for the this year's release are several variants of the Bourbon County brew.

There’s the Coffee Stout, brewed with with Intelligentsia’s Los Delirios Nicaraguan bean. And the Regal Rye, aged in Heaven Hill and Jim Beam rye barrels with tart cherries and blackberry juice added to the mix, finished with a pinch of sea salt. Then there’s the Proprietor's Stout, flavored with maple syrup, roasted pecans and guajillo peppers.

A wait for such magical brews requires preparation.

Larrison brought with him zero-gravity chairs for comfort and a large gray tarp to keep dry. With a body like an old, rusted beer keg, the stout lover often travels to beer-release parties.

The last one he remembers happened at Central Waters Brewing Company in Amherst, Wis., where "some guy got so drunk in the hotel he p----- his pants."

"I had a blast," Larrison said.

Inside Dennison's tent, you'll find an air mattress, blankets and an iPad for watching movies.

He arrived better prepared for this year's release. Last year, Dennison was the also the first person in line. When he retreated to his tent to catch some sleep, he discovered a hole in his air mattress.

That meant a a frigid night of restless shuteye in snow pants on top of nothing but a blanket.

"I knew it was going to rain," Dennison said. "But it's better than being cold."

Some beer geeks took a more bare-bones approach to their equipment.

Jeff McGregor, a 44-year-old landscaper who traveled an hour north from Joliet, showed up at 11:30 a.m. Thursday with nothing more than a raincoat, Coleman camping chair and an umbrella.

The men and women waiting outside Binny's were not there for holiday shopping. They were there to buy a drink they can enjoy on a special occasion — like a birthday or wedding anniversary.

"This is 100 percent me," Larrison said. "This is my wife's gift to me."

"Yeah," said his wife, Jennifer. "Something like that."

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: