Mr Malty GIANT starter calculation?

I have an August 22nd 2011 pack of Wyeast that I want to pitch into a 1.065 OG 23 L (6.5 gal) winterfest ale batch. Mr Malty says that with that date on the pack and one pack I'll need a 6.5L starter! That sounds a bit gigantic to me. So, should I grow that whole thing up in some 1.040 SG DME wort, cold crash the yeast after fully fermenting out and pitch the entire cake? Or could I do a 2-4 L starter, ferment it out, pour off the exess beer, and pitch the slurry as per Mr Malty caculations for slurry?

I don't want to pitch the entire 6.5 L volume because it seems like a large volume to pitch into a 23 L batch.

Thoughts?

You would only need a 2.45L starter if you were using a stir plate. :rockin:

Your 6.53L starter size is if you make it and don't touch it at all (not advisable). Do a simple O2 at start and the size drops to 4.9L. Do some intermittent shaking (when you pass it, swirl it), and the size drops to 3.77L.

Bottom line, you'll need significantly larger starters if you make and do nothing with them. Give the starter wort better oxygenation/aeration (through different methods) and the size keeps dropping.

BTW, even before I had a stir plate, I would at least do the intermittent shaking/swirling so that I didn't need to make large starters.