Activated lager yeast too soon

[Leadster]

I was planning to make a starter for my lager yeast last night (thursday) for brewing on Saturday. I activated the wyeast pack (it was an activator) thursday but had to cancel plans for the starter. I put the yeast back in the fridge (it had already swelled).

Question: can I still use this yeast for the saturday or should I just get rid of it. I've been informed you can do this with ale yeast, but not so sure about lager as it has the lower fermentation temperature.

 

[MalFet]

Yep. The yeast is fine. The activator pack is just a tiny bit of wort and a quantity of yeast nutrient. It doesn't actually "activate" the yeast. It just causes them to metabolize a tiny amount of sugar, thus releasing gas (which is useful, because it indicates that the pack is good). It's kind of like you gave the yeast a small snack before their big meal, but unlike you or I, yeast don't get full. It doesn't make a drop of difference.