Is a gas shut-off valve safe to use in beer line?

I put a metal gas shut-off valve into my beer line that enables me to stop the beer flow. I did this to prevent the beer from spilling on the floor if the tap handle accidently got pulled by my kids or pets.

The valve works great. The beer doesn't pour out if the valve is closed. And it has not caused any foaming problems.

However, I am worried that the metal is not food grade and that it may leach metals into the beer.

Does anyone know if the metal gas shut-off valves are safe to use in beer lines? Anyone else try this and survive?

Beer Gas Regulator Shutoff

The valve I have is 1/4" barbed on both ends. I couldn't find the exact picture.

Do you know what type of metal it's made out of? If it is stainless steel, then I'd say it's fine. Brass I would worry about.

The valve is nickel plated brass. Is nickel plated brass safe to use in contact with beer?

is the valve Pre-beer or post beer? Meaning is the valve before hte gas hits the keg or after the liquid leaves the keg? If it's after then I wouldnt worry about it as long as you have a beer every couple of days. Pre-Keg I would start looking into what kind of metal you're dealing with.

How about just popping the beer out disconnect off the keg instead?

Bobby_M said:

How about just popping the beer out disconnect off the keg instead?

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+1 perfect solution

Isn't there a risk of infecting the beer if you keep removing and replacing the beer out disconnect? Would you suggest soaking the disconnect in Star San between use or am I being paranoid about infections.

LT100 said:

Isn't there a risk of infecting the beer if you keep removing and replacing the beer out disconnect? Would you suggest soaking the disconnect in Star San between use or am I being paranoid about infections.

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how big is your keg ? If you're like me you will probably finish off the keg before there is any chance of any infection starting

Bobby_M said:

How about just popping the beer out disconnect off the keg instead?

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I don't have a keg yet, so I haven't seen the hardware... Does the disconnect have a check valve inside it? Or would you have to drain the beer out of the line after/before doing this so it wouldn't spill all over the place?

I had to find beer line valves too. I wanted to find some that screwed directly onto threaded corny connects. After much searching I found these:

REFCO CA 1/4 SAE B 4493525 Blue ball valve for Refrigeration Charging Hoses - New and used sheet metal equipment sales. Des Moines, Iowa, United States (USA)



These have 1/4" mfl fittings on both ends which are very hard to find. After they are installed there is no extra foaming or any other issues that I've noticed. Also since they are attached directly to corny liquid disconnects, they are easy to turn on/off because the disconnect provides stability rather than just connected to tubing itself. It looks like you may need to order a three pack now- which is found at

Refco CA14SAE 3 Ball Valves for Refrigeration Hoses - New and used sheet metal equipment sales. Des Moines, Iowa, United States (USA)

hexmonkey said:

I don't have a keg yet, so I haven't seen the hardware... Does the disconnect have a check valve inside it? Or would you have to drain the beer out of the line after/before doing this so it wouldn't spill all over the place?

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Flow is stopped at the keg via the poppet valve inside the post. It's stopped on the end of the beerline by a similar valve in the disconnect. Yes, you'd probably want to put a little starsan in a spray bottle and hit both surfaces before making the connection after an extended disconnect, but it's not much trouble.

I am interested in this as well because I have standard SankeType D Couplers on my cornies, not ball or pinlocks, so need something like this for force carbing so as soon as I turn on the gas beer doesn't shoot up to the faucet or out of the keg if I'm just force carbing and setting aside.