Over the last year I've switched my beer lines to SS. While I keep a few washers on hand I've never needed to use them.

I too noticed some small metal bits. I cleaned it well and have been using it since. Its convenient to to attach the liquid hoses to shanks in a kegging setup.

If you like to switch out your home brew keg for a commercial keg, this could be an essential piece for your setup. Add the hex nut and washer and this is an easy low cost way to attach your gas or liquid line to the keg tap. Also works great for attaching a shank without a barbed tail.

I use these for my hose connections. All my lines use stainless where I can , not brass.

There were some small speck of metal that would have interefered with the seal had I not thoroughly cleaned the tail piece. It now works as it should.