Gravity loss after settling?

Question

Just made my second batch using an Anvil Foundry all-in-one brewing system. I used an immersion chiller to bring the wort down, but could only get it down to 82F (groundwater in Texas in August... whatya gonna do?). I didn't want to pitch my yeast at >80F, so I decided to seal it up and leave it overnight to cool to room temperature.

This morning, I decided to use the pump that came with the Anvil to pump the wort to the fermenter. I realized this would leave a significant amount of sediment in the Anvil, but figured it would have settled in the fermenter within a few hours anyway. But then I took my gravity reading and I'm .010 lower than my target. Would this be normal/expected?

Since the fix for low OG is to add DME - which is simply adding more particulates - do I need to be concerned? Do I need to go ahead and add DME? I guess it's a matter of if the DME stays in suspension. Is missing by .010 "significant"?

I'm still dialing in the adjustments I have to make for the Anvil, so it could be that I didn't use the right amount of water during the mash, or my sparging technique isn't effective.

Answer 1

No, removing sediment should not affect specific gravity. Note you should be measuring clear liquid without too much sediment. SG indicates the amount of solute dissolved in the solution (wort). Solid substances don't count, and anything dissolvable would have already dissolved (you're nowhere near saturation).

Answer 2

Are you missing 0.010 based on a previous measurement, or based on what the recipe says you should get?

If the former, remember that hydrometer (I assume you're using a hydrometer) needs to be temperature-corrected and most are calibrated for 20C. So if you measured the previous day and got a different measurement once it had cooled, then the difference is because of the different temperatures.

If the latter, the recipe targets are guidelines and what you actually get can vary based on your "brewhouse efficiency", which takes into account a bunch of factors specific to your system and the malts you've used.

Remember that a higher SG means more sugar, and more sugar means more alcohol. So if you're trying to hit a target ABV then I would add more sugar (in the form of DME), otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.