Hop Spiders.....

It will definitely help if you keep trub out of the fermenter, but you should definitely use Irish moss if you're that paranoid about the clarity. Drain from the side via a 2 piece valve or siphon it out. Then you could cold crash if you absolutely must.

 

Irish moss or whirlfloc in the boil and cold crashing after fermentation are the keys for clarity. I've never bothered with a hop spider before.

However, for your first brew, or your first 10, clarity should not be your chief concern. Get the basics nailed down and clarity will come as a result.

 

I use a hop spider for all hop and spice additions to the kettle, it helps with keeping stuff out of the fermentation vessel. Don't bother with Irish moss, use whirlfloc, and add it outside of the spider.

 

A spider's a good idea if you're not running your wort through a paint straining bag or a double mesh strainer.

 

I used to not bother containing the hops. More recently, I've played around with bags and spiders.

I think there's a compromise with these devices. You need more hops to reach the same flavor level, but the size of the spider or bag ends up limiting the amount of hops you can use.

 

For an English Pale Ale, I doubt you'll need a hop spider. If you already have one, use it. If not, don't worry about it. I only use my for IPAs.

For the clarity you want, use 1/2 a pack of Knott's gelatin per 5gal after you have cold crashed. Beer comes out commercially clear.

 

The hop spider itself does nothing for clarity...it's more of a convenience thing to prevent having to bag each and every hop addition. I don't bother with any bags for smaller 5 gal batches that I can just pour through a strainer on the way to a fermenter.

 

I totally agree with pweis. Depending on the size of your hop spider, you should add about 10% more hops to get the same amount of bitterness.

 

I mainly use my spider to help keep hop particulate out of my plate chiller. I do feel that it reduces hop utilization though. A bit of whirlpooling coupled with a (long enough - 15+ minutes) whirlpool rest is generally the way I go these days though.

 

I agree that the impact on the finished product's clarity is probably minimal. Hop matter should settle with time. However, if one thinks having hop matter in the fermenter is wrong for a particular beer, then it could help the finished product in some other way. Also, it may help keep hop gunk from clogging your transfer tubes.

 

Since it's your first beer, try using a few hop bags. They work fine. 2oz each max.

The bags will still be useful if you decide to use something more fancy later.

 

Hop socks or free ball it and handle your filtration with a nylon (fine mesh) BIAB bag on your racking cane. If you can crash your beer, whether by sticking it outside or true temperature control. Do it. If not. Meh. A little haze isn't a bad thing.
It's your first couple brews. Get the hot side fundamentals down before you get anxious about how you handle the cellaring and filtration part.