Whether you’re moving hot wort to a fermenter or transferring finished beer into kegs, having a reliable valve makes the job easier (and cleaner) 🍻. DERNORD butterfly valves are popular among home brewers for precisely this reason – they offer sturdy flow control with a simple quarter-turn action, and they’re designed to be sanitary and easy to clean.
In this guide, we’ll walk through practical ways to use DERNORD butterfly valves in a home brewing setup🍺.
What Is a Butterfly Valve and Why Use One in Brewing?
A butterfly valve is a type of flow control device that uses a rotating disk (the "butterfly") inside the pipe to start or stop flow. Turning the handle rotates that disk 90°, moving it parallel to the flow (fully open) or perpendicular to the flow (fully closed). Many butterfly valves – including the DERNORD models – have notched handles that let you lock the valve in intermediate positions for throttling flow. In other words, it’s not just on/off; you can crack it open halfway or a quarter turn to regulate how fast liquid moves.In brewing, butterfly valves are favored for their sanitary design and ease of use. Unlike ball valves, which have hollow cavities that can trap wort or trub, a butterfly valve’s interior is just the flat disc and seal – no hidden pockets for gunk to hide.
This makes cleaning and sanitizing much easier and gives brewers peace of mind against contamination. They’re also compact and quick to actuate (just a quick flip of the handle). DERNORD’s butterfly valves, in particular, use food-grade 304 stainless steel construction with a smooth polish on wetted surfaces for easy cleaning.
They come with tri-clamp (“tri-clover”) connections, which are common in professional breweries and increasingly popular in home setups for being leak-proof, easy to assemble, and easy to break down for cleaning. In short, a butterfly valve is an excellent upgrade for a home brewery that values sanitation, durability, and precise flow control.
Use Cases: Where Butterfly Valves Shine in Homebrewing
Homebrewers can install butterfly valves anywhere they need to control or redirect fluids. Here are some common use cases where DERNORD butterfly valves can make your brew day smoother:
Controlling Wort Flow from Kettle to Fermenter
After the boil, you need to transfer hot wort from your kettle to the fermenter (often through a chiller first). A butterfly valve at the kettle’s outlet lets you dial in the perfect flow rate when draining or pumping wort. For example, you might start with the valve only partially open to slow the flow – this helps you avoid overwhelming your wort chiller or prevents disturbing too much trub at the bottom of the kettle.
With the DERNORD valve’s notched handle, you can lock in that slower flow and then gradually open it up as needed.
Using a butterfly valve here also gives you a quick shut-off in case of any issue (like a hose coming loose or needing to swap vessels). It’s literally a quarter-turn to stop the flow. Many brewers prefer this over a typical ball valve because it’s easier to control and less prone to clogging. If you have some hop or grain debris, the butterfly’s disk can actually act like a skimmer – though ideally, you’ll have a kettle screen or hop filter in place.
The key benefit is smooth, controllable flow of wort from kettle to fermenter, which can improve chilling efficiency and reduce sediment carry-over. Plus, the 304 SS valve can handle the heat (boiling temps are around 212°F, within DERNORD’s operating range) without issues.
Regulating the Flow of Water for Temperature Control
Controlling water flow is important in several brewing steps, such as running cooling water through a wort chiller or managing the recirculation in a HERMS/RIMS system for mash temperature control. A butterfly valve gives you fine control in these scenarios. For instance:
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Chilling Wort: If you use an immersion chiller or counterflow chiller, you can throttle the cold water flow with a butterfly valve to hit the right cooling rate. Slowing the water can increase contact time and cooling efficiency, while opening it up full blast can drop temperatures faster when needed. The valve’s smooth adjustment lets you avoid wasting water while still cooling effectively.
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HERMS/RIMS Recirculation: In a Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash System, you might have hot water circulating through a coil to maintain mash temp. Using a butterfly valve on the output of your hot liquor tank or on the recirculation loop allows precise control of flow through the coil, which in turn fine-tunes the heat transfer to your mash. Small tweaks to the valve position can stabilize your mash temperature without overshooting.
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Glycol or Ice Water Flow: Some advanced homebrew fermenters use a mini glycol chiller or ice water pump for fermentation temperature control, flowing coolant through a jacket or coil in the fermenter. A butterfly valve on the coolant line can regulate how fast the cold water flows, effectively controlling how quickly it pulls down the fermenter temperature. This manual “thermostat” trick is simpler than an automated solenoid and gives you a hands-on way to adjust temps.
In all these cases, the DERNORD butterfly valve’s quick responsiveness and ability to hold a partial-open setting come in handy. The manual lever gives you tactile feedback, and you can feel the flow change as you turn it. And since these valves are made for sanitary use, you don’t have to worry if some of that water contacts your wort or beer – the stainless steel and food-grade seals won’t introduce off flavors or contamination.
Just remember to sanitize the valve if it’s being used post-boil (for example, on a recirculation line that touches cooled wort).
Diverting Beer Between Tanks for Clarification or Carbonation
If your home brewery has multiple vessels (like a brite tank, secondary fermenter, or a keg you use as a clarifying tank), butterfly valves can act as traffic cops for your beer. While a single butterfly valve isn’t a three-way diverter by itself, you can set up “T” fittings or multiple valves to direct flow between different paths.
For example, imagine you have a conical fermenter and you want to transfer finished beer to a secondary keg for clarifying or to a brite tank for force carbonation. You could have:
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A butterfly valve on the fermenter’s outlet, to start/stop the flow out of the fermenter.
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A tee fitting right after that, splitting flow to two paths: one path leading to your clarifying tank, the other maybe back to another vessel or to a drain.
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Each path controlled by its own butterfly valve. By opening one valve and keeping the other closed, you effectively direct the beer to the desired vessel. Want to switch where the beer goes? Just flip the valves – one closed, the other open.
This setup is similar to how pro breweries use manifold panels with multiple butterfly valves to send beer different directions. The instant open/close action is great for this: you can switch a flow over without much downtime. Also, butterfly valves create minimal turbulence when fully open, so your beer can flow gently.
That’s helpful when transferring clear beer off sediment – you don’t want to jostle all the yeast and trub back into suspension. Because the butterfly valve doesn’t have the drastic on/off snap of some other valves, you can open it gradually to prevent pressure shocks or foaming.
Another use case here is inline clarification equipment. If you run beer through a filter or plate (for example, a plate filter or a hop back used as a filter), having butterfly valves before and after the filter allows you to isolate that equipment.
You could divert beer through the filter using one set of valves, then bypass the filter by changing valve positions.
All of this is much easier with tri-clamp butterfly valves since they integrate into sanitary tubing setups and can be reconfigured on the fly. Just clamp, unclamp – no threading or hose barbs to fight with.
Controlling Flow from Fermenter to Keg or Serving Vessel or Serving Vessel
When it’s time to package your beer (🍾 one of the most satisfying moments!), butterfly valves help you transfer from fermenter to keg smoothly and cleanly. Many conical fermenters come with butterfly valves on their dump port or racking arm because of how sanitary they are. If your fermenter has a tri-clamp port, attaching a DERNORD butterfly valve gives you confident control over the outflow.
How this helps: Suppose you are doing a closed CO2 transfer from fermenter to keg. You have pressure pushing the beer out, and you want to fill the keg slowly to avoid foam or oxygen pickup. A butterfly valve lets you crack open the flow just a bit – maybe a quarter turn – so beer gently streams into the keg without splashing.
You can actually watch the fill level and feather the valve as needed, opening more if things are going smoothly or throttling if the keg is nearing full or foaming. Try doing that with a standard ball valve – it’s a lot harder to get a fine control, as ball valves tend to go from trickle to gusher with a tiny movement (and many don’t hold position unless you physically keep them partially turned).
Butterfly valves excel at this kind of modulation, and brewers often note that they “allow you to modulate flow rate a little easier” than ball valves.
Additionally, when you’re done filling one keg, you can shut the butterfly valve immediately while you swap to the next keg, minimizing any air exposure. The quick action and tight seal of a DERNORD valve ensures you’re not losing beer or letting outside air in. And since it’s all tri-clamp, you can easily pop the valve off afterward for cleaning or sanitizing.
For serving setups – say you have a serving tank or a jockey box – butterfly valves can also function as on/off taps for beer lines, though most home setups use dedicated faucets for serving. But if you ever need to isolate a keg in a series or shut off a line, a butterfly valve is an option that won’t add contamination risk.
Overall, from fermenter to keg, the butterfly valve gives you confidence that you can start, stop, and throttle your beer flow without stress. That means less spillage, less oxidation, and a smoother brew day finish. 👍
Best Practices for Using Butterfly Valves in Your Brew System
Even though butterfly valves are user-friendly, a few best practices will help you get the most out of them (and keep your beer safe and tasty):
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Clean Immediately After Use: It’s good hygiene to clean any valve right after you’re done with it on brew day. Luckily, tri-clamp butterfly valves make this easy. Many brewers simply remove the valve, open it fully, and drop it into a PBW cleaning solution to soak along with tubing and other fittings. Because there are no deep cavities, the cleaning solution reaches all the internal surfaces. After a soak, rinse it with hot water and it’s usually good as new.
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Inspect and Sanitize Before Use: Before hooking the valve back into your system, give it a quick look. Check the seal (seat) inside for any cracks or residual crud. If the seal looks worn or damaged, replace it – DERNORD and other suppliers sell replacement EPDM/silicone seats so you can swap them out and keep the valve in service. Also, if the valve will touch cooled wort or beer, sanitize it thoroughly (you can dunk it in sanitizer or flush sanitizer through it). Butterfly valves are very sanitary by design, but only if you actually sanitize them!
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Take It Apart Occasionally: One of the beautiful things about tri-clamp fittings is how easily they come apart. While day-to-day cleaning can be done by soaking as mentioned, it’s a good idea to fully disassemble the butterfly valve once in a while to inspect all parts. This might involve undoing a few screws to remove the disk and handle from the body (depending on the valve design). It’s not needed after every use, but maybe every few months or if you notice anything off (like stickiness or a rough feeling when turning, which could indicate buildup). Unlike typical tri-clamp ball valves that require unscrewing multiple bolts to strip down (a chore), the butterfly valve usually has fewer parts and is straightforward to disassemble and reassemble. Regular maintenance will ensure it operates smoothly for years.
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Mind the Temperature and Pressure Limits: While homebrewing rarely involves high pressure, it’s worth noting DERNORD valves are pressure tested up to 1.6 MPa (~232 PSI) – far beyond what we’d use (most of our systems run at only a few PSI at most, or a bit more if pressurizing a fermenter). They can also handle boiling temperatures (up to ~200°F or higher) easily. Just avoid super-critical uses like high-pressure steam unless you’ve checked the specs. Also, extreme cold (like glycol at sub-freezing temps) should be fine, but be aware that some seat materials (EPDM, silicone) have their own temp ranges. Generally, standard brewing temps and pressures are well within this valve’s capabilities.
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Ensure Full Engagement of Tri-Clamp: When installing the valve, make sure the tri-clamp is properly tightened and the gasket is seated correctly between the valve and the mating flange. A loose clamp can leak or even pop off under flow. Finger-tighten, then give it a little extra snugness with the clamp wing-nut – firm but not overly cranked (over-tightening can damage gaskets). A properly clamped butterfly valve will have a nice even seal and the handle will likely end up aligned how you want (some brewers like to position the handle upward or sideways so it’s easy to grab and out of the way of any drainage).
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Use on Hot Side vs Cold Side: As some brewers have discovered, leaving uncleaned ball valves on the cold side (post-fermentation) can cause infections. Butterfly valves mitigate this risk by being easier to clean, but you should still treat cold-side valves with extra care. If you only use a butterfly valve on the hot side (kettle, mash tun, etc.), you might get by with slightly less rigorous cleaning each time (since boiling wort has sterilized it, and any wort trapped is less of an infection risk). In fact, using butterfly valves on the hot side “eliminates the need for all that cleaning” fiddling compared to a ball valve. Still, don’t be complacent – give it a rinse and a soak. On the cold side, always assume you need to sanitize like a surgeon. The good news is the butterfly valve will not harbor much if any residue after a good soak, so many brewers feel comfortable not tearing it down after every use (unlike a ball valve which must be taken apart to be sure). In summary: hot side = clean easily, cold side = clean and sanitize thoroughly.
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Store Valves Clean and Dry: After cleaning, let the butterfly valve dry before storage. You can reassemble it and just leave it in a clean bin or bag. Storing it dry (or in a bag of sanitized condition) prevents any mold or nasties from taking up residence. If you ever see or smell anything off when you next grab it, just repeat the cleaning process before hooking it up to your precious brew.
Following these practices will ensure your butterfly valves remain the trusty gatekeepers of your brewhouse flow, keeping contamination out and making each transfer a breeze. As one homebrewer put it, having valves that are “reliable, long-lasting, high quality, sanitary, and easy to keep that way” is a big win for the BIAB and homebrew crowd. That’s exactly what you’re aiming for with a DERNORD butterfly valve setup.
Advantages of Butterfly Valves vs. Ball Valves (and Other Valve Types)
Why choose a butterfly valve over the common ball valve or other valves in brewing? Here are some key advantages of butterfly valves in a brewing context:
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More Sanitary Design: Butterfly valves are often considered the most sanitary valve design for breweries. There are no internal cavities where liquid can get trapped and spoil. Ball valves, in contrast, have a hollow ball and other nooks that can hold a small amount of wort/beer – a potential breeding ground for bacteria if not meticulously cleaned. With a butterfly valve, when it’s open, it’s basically a smooth pipe with a flat disc, and when it’s closed, the disc seals without leaving pockets of liquid. This means less risk of contamination batch-to-batch.
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Easy Cleaning and Maintenance: Because of the simple, open design, cleaning a butterfly valve is a cinch. You usually don’t need tools or complete disassembly after each use – a thorough rinse or soak will do in most cases. Ball valves often require taking apart multiple bolts to scrub inside, especially if used on the cold side. As one brewer humorously noted, finding gunk or even mold hiding in a ball valve after some time is a nasty surprise. Butterfly valves spare you that horror. And if you do need to service them, the seals (seats) are replaceable easily, so you can renew the valve without buying a whole new unit.
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Precise Flow Control: Both ball and butterfly valves are quarter-turn valves (full open to full close in 90°). But butterfly valves often come with a notched or ratcheted handle that can lock in various partially open positions. This makes it easier to throttle the flow at a steady rate. Ball valves can be used half-open, but there’s no detent – you have to hold it in place or it might drift, and the flow curve can be abrupt. Brewers report that butterfly valves allow you to “modulate flow rate a little easier”, which is especially useful when transferring delicate fluids like finished beer (preventing splashing) or when trying to control sparge or recirculation rates. In short, you get better fine control with a butterfly.
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Quick Operation: A butterfly valve’s handle throw is very quick – just flip 90° and you’re done. Ball valves can also be quick, but if you’ve ever had a sticky ball valve (maybe some hop resin gummed it up) you know it can sometimes take a bit of force to turn. Butterfly valves generally have a long lever for torque, and a smooth action. This means fast response if you need to shut off flow in a hurry. It’s one reason breweries use butterflies on pumps and pipes – you can slam it shut in a second if something goes wrong.
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Lower Profile & Weight: Butterfly valves tend to be more compact and lightweight compared to tri-clamp ball valves. A butterfly valve is basically a disk in a thin housing, whereas a tri-clamp ball valve has a bulky body to house the ball and seals. On small homebrew scales the weight difference isn’t huge, but on larger sizes it is noticeable (brewers handling 2” or 3” valves appreciate that the butterfly is easier to heft onto a tank). The slimmer profile can also be nice in tight spaces – for example, if your kettle port is close to the floor, a butterfly valve’s horizontal disk might protrude less than a big ball valve assembly.
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No Threads, All Tri-Clamp: Many homebrewers start with ball valves that have NPT threaded connections or weldless bulkheads. Threads are fine, but they require Teflon tape and can be places where grime or bacteria hide. Most butterfly valves for brewing (like DERNORD’s) use tri-clamp connections exclusively, meaning you get a smooth, thread-free connection that is easy to seal and easy to break down. Tri-clamp fittings in general are a sanitary standard. You can of course get tri-clamp ball valves too, but they still have that internal cavity issue. So overall, a butterfly valve gives you all the benefits of tri-clamp plus the easier cleaning of the butterfly design – a double win for sanitation.
Why Choose DERNORD Butterfly Valves for Home Brewing?
DERNORD butterfly valves have become a popular and reliable choice for home brewers due to their solid build quality and thoughtful design. Constructed from heavy-duty 304 stainless steel with a polished finish, these valves are corrosion-resistant, easy to clean, and pressure-tested for leak-proof performance.
Their compatibility with standard tri-clamp fittings ensures seamless integration with existing brewing hardware from various manufacturers, making them a plug-and-play upgrade. Furthermore, the smooth interior and quick disassembly via tri-clamps simplify cleaning and sanitation, crucial aspects of home brewing.
Beyond their robust construction and ease of use, DERNORD valves offer practical features for home brewers. Available with both pull and trigger handles, they provide multi-position control, allowing for precise flow regulation during various brewing processes like sparging or transfers. Their affordability offers excellent value for money, making professional-style hardware accessible to home brewers on a budget.
The proven track record within the homebrewing community, coupled with the potential for future automation, solidifies DERNORD butterfly valves as a trustworthy and versatile addition to any home brewery setup.🍻
Choosing the Right Size and Connection Type
Butterfly valves come in various sizes and connection types, so you’ll want to pick the one that fits your home brewery setup. Here are some tips on choosing the right size and connection for abutterfly valve:
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Match Your Hose/Tubing Diameter (Tri-Clamp Size): Homebrewers commonly use 1.5-inch tri-clamp fittings for most applications – this size has a flange diameter of about 50.5 mm and generally connects to 1/2” to 3/4” inner diameter tubing or equipment ports. A DERNORD 1.5” butterfly valve will likely be the go-to for many, as it interfaces with standard homebrew hardware (kettle ports, pump inlet/outlets, fermenter valves, etc.). If you have larger gear, you might consider a 2-inch tri-clamp valve (64 mm flange). A 2” valve offers a wider passage (good for very high flow or thicker fluids) but note it will be a bit more expensive and heavier. In practice, unless you’re moving to professional-sized batches, the 1.5” valves have plenty of flow capacity – they can gravity drain a keg in well under a minute or handle any typical brew pump flow. DERNORD offers valves from 1.5” up to 4” and even 6” for industrial use, but for homebrewing, bigger than 2” is rarely needed. Stick to whatever tri-clamp size your current equipment uses. If your kettle and fermenter have 1.5” ports, use a 1.5” valve. Consistency is key; you can always use adapters, but it’s simplest if everything in your system shares the same tri-clamp size so you can swap parts easily.
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Connection Type – Tri-Clamp vs Others: The ideal scenario is to use tri-clamp connections throughout, for maximum sanitation and modularity. If you’re not there yet, consider that you can get butterfly valves in other connection styles too (though DERNORD’s line is mostly tri-clamp). For example, they have a threaded SMS butterfly valve and some weldless bulkhead butterfly valves. However, using a threaded butterfly kind of defeats the purpose – you introduce threads to clean. It’s usually better to convert your system to tri-clamp at the point where the valve will go. For instance, if you have a kettle with a weldless ball valve, you can buy a tri-clamp bulkhead fitting for that kettle and then attach the butterfly. Or use an NPT-to-tri-clamp adapter if you must. In short, tri-clamp is the recommended connection type for these valves in brewing. It’s what DERNORD butterfly valves are primarily designed for, and it’s the standard in sanitary applications. If your system isn’t tri-clamp yet, you might choose to start the conversion at the valve locations.
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Consider Flow Needs and Space: If you are brewing larger batches (15+ gallons) or using a pump to move liquid quickly, a larger diameter valve (2”) might give you an edge in flow rate. It can also be beneficial if you have situations where solids might be present (like pumping fruit pulp or very heavy hop loads – though ideally those are filtered out). The larger valve will clog less easily simply due to a bigger opening. On the other hand, 2” valves are bulkier – check your equipment layout. Will a bigger valve fit without hitting other components or the ground? For example, on a small brew stand a 2” butterfly on the kettle might stick out more than a 1.5” and be in the way. Measure the clearance if upsizing. The nice thing is 1.5” tri-clamp fittings are so ubiquitous and usually sufficient that you rarely need to go larger for home use. Many brewers stick with 1/2” ID tubing which pairs perfectly with 1.5” tri-clamps.
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Think About Standardization: It’s often helpful to standardize on one size for all your valves and fittings in the brewery. That way, all your clamps and gaskets are the same size, and you don’t have to keep track of different spares. If you’ve already got some 1.5” tri-clamp pieces (like a CIP arm, an immersion chiller with TC fittings, etc.), it makes sense to continue with 1.5” valves. If you’re starting from scratch on a larger system, maybe you opt for 2” everywhere. DERNORD’s offerings cover the common sizes, so choose one and stick to it if you can. Remember, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link – one 1.5” choke point in a system of 2” parts will reduce flow to what the 1.5” can handle. So if you truly need ultra-high flow, go 2” consistently. Otherwise, 1.5” all around is typically ideal for homebrew scales.
To wrap up selection: figure out what size tri-clamp your equipment uses (or what size you want to adopt), then choose a DERNORD butterfly valve in that size. The 1.5” tri-clamp size is a safe bet for nearly all homebrew applications, whereas 2” is more niche for bigger setups. Stick with tri-clamp connections for the best results – you’ll love how everything can connect/disconnect so easily. And remember you can always mix in adapters if needed (e.g., tri-clamp to barb fittings for hoses), so having a tri-clamp valve doesn’t mean you must convert every single piece of gear immediately. It just gives you a clean, flexible hub in your system.