Beer fans in Barnard Castle and beyond could soon be able to sample the town's own brew in a dedicated tap room.
Council council have approved an application for the Barnard Castle Brewery, in Quaker Yard, Newgate, to open an on site bar.
But despite a drastic revision to plans, which saw proposed opening hours slashed, the decision still provoked anger from opponents of the scheme.
The business, which trades under the name Three Counties Brewery, had originally applied for a licence to sell alcohol between 9am - 11pm seven days a week.
This would have allowed customers to drink on the premises as well as take their purchases home.
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But objections prompted brewery bosses to revise this to just Fridays and Saturdays, with 'off sales' allowed between 12.30pm - 9pm and 'on sales', which would permit drinking on site, between 5.30pm - 9pm.
They also insisted these were the hours they had intended to operate, but had been advised to apply for the maximum available to allow the staging of one-off events without the need for a temporary licence.
"By no stretch of the imagination is this a pub," David Snaith, told yesterday's meeting of Durham County Council's Statutory Licensing Sub-Committee.
"I sympathise with a lot of the objections, but it is not a pub.
"If I opened a pub with these hours it would go out of business within weeks."
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He added the brewery had been in business in Quaker Yard since 2016 'without complaint'.
Opposition to the scheme was led by a Mr Mitchell, who owns a property in Newgate which shares the single alley access the Quaker Yard.
He and others said they were concerned about the impact noise from the brewery would have on their quality of life, as well as other concerns about litter and privacy.
After deliberations however, the three-strong panel agreed to approve the licence application.
Committee chairwoman Pauline Crathorne said: "There's no legal reason to reject the application as amended.
"We would, to the residents, say if any issues arise from the premises in relation to noise then you must contact [the council's environmental health team] and have an investigation started."
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