hop strainer or bag?

[bramswell]

im new to AG brewing and not sure if i should get a hop strainer or use a muslin bag in the boil,
i will be using a wort cooler but the web site i was looking to get the strainer from said dont use a cooler with the strainer, you have to cool in the FV, is this good practice or is it better to use a bag and cool in the boiler before transfering to the FV.

[Northern Brewer]

I put my 90 minutes and 15 minute hops into muslin bags, which are fished out at the end of boil. I then cool the wort in the boiler before transferring across to the fermenter once below 26.5C. Recent brews have entailed quite a lot of trub, or break material, ending up in the fermenter, with no detrimental effect, so don't let this unduly concern you. Muslin bags can be rinsed clean and re-used a few times if you want to save some pennies.

[Subsonic]

I do exactly the same as that above and it works fine. Sneak the bags into the washing machine when SWMBO is not looking....

[Andy Dean]

I've been using a hop strainer and an imersion chiller in the boiler for years with no undesirable effects whatsoever, like someone else pointed out the hops are supposed to form a natural filter bed to remove trub form the hot and cold break when using a chiller, just remember to leave them to settle for 20mins and not drain the boiler into he FV as soon as its at pitching temp otherwise they may clog the strainer. I don't see the advantage to chilling in the FV tbh, besides which with my setup that would mean aerating hot wort during the transfer, which as i understand could be a bad thing, but each to their own.

Invest in the hop strainer and don't look back, let those hops roam free in the boil my friend

[bramswell]

thanks for the advice guys
my immersion chiller arrived today, just waiting for the hop strainer now,should be early next week.

off to the shed for a quick tidy up in preperation.