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==Defining ''Spontaneous Fermentation''==
(To do)
In the most romanticized view of the term spontaneous fermentation, the microbes which inoculate the wort in the coolship are sourced exclusively from the ambient environment. Scientific publications have suggested that in the case of some producers, these microbes may be resident in the brewhouse ([http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0035507 Bokulich et al, 2012], this is supported by the reluctance of lambic brewers to alter their facilities --source-- and the spraying of lambic on the walls of new buildings ---link Cantillon facebook post---) and, in some cases, that they may be derived from the oak barrels and/or foedres which are often used to hold the fermenting beer ([http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074000201500012X Spitaels et al., 2015]). Many Belgian lambic producers thoroughly clean their barrels using hot water/steam, mechanical agitation, and/or burning sulfur (---sources---); however even the most rigorous cleaning does not likely fully sterilize the barrels. In the case of lambic brewers the microbes resident in barrels are spontaneous in origin, having been derived from years to decades of use in the brewery without any exposure to pitched cultures. The barrels may serve as a concentrating mechanism for the desired cultures.
A spontaneous fermentation may also be achieved by inoculating small amounts of wort and growing up the spontaneously inoculated microbes to check for suitability. This is common in homebrew production (link mad fermentationist) and allows for screening of the microbes for aggressive off flavors and/or mold. This is not unlike the potential of used oak barrels, where well performing barrels may be kept to inoculate subsequent batches while poorly perfoming barrels may be discarded and removed from the brewery. As different microbes survive and thrive in different environments, barrels or pre-screened and grown starters cannot provide a complete profile of the microbes present in traditional spontaneous fermentation beers. However a combination of a coolship to inoculate the wort with ambient/brewhouse resident microbes combined with a form of pre-screenign such as barrel re-use and/or spontaneous starters may provide the full microbiota present in traditional spontaneously fermented products.
==''Spontaneous Fermentation'' versus ''Mixed Fermentation''==