Buy this when bottling steals every Sunday: a ball-lock Corny (TMCRAFT 5-gal class), dual-gauge CGA-320 regulator, a 5 lb CO2 cylinder (ships empty—plan a fill), picnic tap liquid line, and a spare O-ring kit. Wait on chrome towers and multi-tap keezers until one keg carbonates and pours without hissing away gas.
Bottling works; it also leaves a closet of glass. Kegging trades that chore for fittings and a cleaning routine you can’t half-ass—posts and poppets hide soil bottles don’t. Sanitation still rules cold-side gear: best homebrew sanitizers.
The minimum that actually pours
Skip the chrome tower until you’re pouring enough volume to justify it. A working starter looks like:
- One ball-lock (or pin-lock) corny keg in sound condition
- CO2 cylinder + dual-gauge regulator (tank pressure + output PSI)
- Gas and liquid disconnects matched to your post type
- Beverage tubing and a picnic tap
- A spare O-ring kit
Leak-check every joint with soapy water after assembly. Hissing “character” is wasted CO2 and flat beer.
Used kegs are fine; pitted interiors and chewed lid gaskets are not. Rebuild cheap parts instead of trusting a $40 auction special forever.
Gas: regulator + cylinder
A single-gauge toy that drifts from 12 PSI to “who knows” will overcarbonate one batch and undercarbonate the next. Dual gauges let you see an empty tank coming and catch output creep before you invent a fountain at the picnic tap.
In the US, expect a CGA-320 fitting on the cylinder. Wrong fittings and adapters are a common first-week mistake—verify before brew day excitement hits. Empty tanks ship empty—budget a fill shop trip.
Liquid line and seals
When kegging is the right upgrade
Move off bottles when packaging day is the bottleneck—not while fermentation still tastes like summer heat. Fix temperature control and trust your fermenter first. One tight keg line beats three leaking taps and a sad CO2 bill.
Still on extract basics? See the beginner starter kit and the full brewing hub.