Abstract: A rope braking device is formed from a steel rod defining a substantially rectangular frame about which a rope may be entwined for the purpose of braking the passage of the rope through the rope braking device for the controlled lowering of an object secured to one end of the rope. The rod may be a single one-piece rod bent into the rectangular frame configuration with the opposite ends of the rod being bent into two upstanding hooks for supporting the rope braking device on a fixed support. When the rope braking device is used for lowering kegs from a truck, a keg hooking device is used which includes a pair of hook members, each having a hook engageable in a rim aperture of a keg and a loop secured to an oval ring adjacent the center of the keg wherein the loop and hook of each hook member are disposed orthagonally to each other.