lager question

I'm getting ready to brew my first lager. I am doing an extract batch. I made a 3l starter and pitched 2 vials of WLP 820 yeast. Not sure if one of the vials was any good. Starter was 1.054

1. Pitching the starter - do I take a OG reading before I pitch the starter or after? I am planning on dumping the whole starter, not decanting first, so 3 l may make a difference on the OG. Does the yeast affect the OG? With my ales I always take a reading before pitching..

I have a good temp control setup.. I can set my cooler for low 50's to ferment. I guess thats good? Once fermentation is complete, rack to secondary and start lagering at upper 30's?

Take your OG before you add the yeast starter.

Most lager yeast strains should be fermented at 50-55 degrees. Here's White Lab's info on that strain: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp820.html

I often do a diacetyl rest with my lagers. I ferment them in primary until they're about 75% finished (75% of the way to FG, usually about 1.020), then raise the temperature 10 degrees for 48 hours. After FG is reached, I rack and then begin lagering. I like to lager colder, at about 34 degrees. I like to lager one week for each 8-10 points of OG. So, for a 1.060 OG lager, I'll lager for 6-8 weeks.

Thanks Yooper!! It looks like this Octoberfest is going to be more of a Novemberfest after adding a few weeks in the bottle..