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'''Coolship''' (the Anglicized version of the Dutch/Flemish ''koelschip'') is a type of fermentation vessel used in the production of beer. Traditionally, a ''coolship'' is a broad, open-top, flat vessel in which wort cools. It is an integral step in the process of making Belgian lambic and other [[Spontaneous_Fermentation|spontaneously fermented beers]]. The high surface to mass ratio allows for more efficient cooling. Historically, coolships were constructed of wood, but later were lined with iron or copper for better thermal conductivity. Most modern constructed coolships are made from stainless steel, although copper coolships are still used in many Belgian lambic breweries. Some Most likely pre-dating the specific application of coolships by Belgian lambic brewers for [[Spontaneous Fermentation]], some German and English brewers also still use copper coolships (''kühlschiff''in German and "cooler" in Great Britain) as chillers to partially cool wort to 55-75°C (131-167°F) before either chilling the wort in a closed system or transferring the hot warm wort to a fermenter to cool and finally pitch yeast , a process which was once common throughout Europe <ref>[http://craftybeergirls.com/2018/03/18/coolship-field-trip/ Lauren Lerch. "Coolship Field Trip". Crafty Beer Girls blog. Retrieved 03/18/2018.]</ref><ref>[http://www.uerige.de/brauerei-brauprozess.html "Malz – aus Gerste und Weizen ". Zum Uerige website. Retrieved 03/18/2018.]</ref><ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/2814130411948488/ Various members of MTF. Milk The Funk thread on the use of coolships in historical German brewing. 07/28/2019.]</ref><ref>[http://zythophile.co.uk/2019/10/18/do-you-gyle-your-ale-after-it-leaves-the-cooler-and-finishes-fermenting-in-the-vat-or-krausen-your-beer-post-coolship-when-its-run-out-of-the-foeder Martyn Cornell. Zythophile website. 10/18/2019. retrieved 10/18/2019.]</ref>. Saison breweries used coolships during the 1800's in a similar fashion to German brewers to cool the wort before pitching yeast <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/2275507945810740/?comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%2317%22%7D Georges Lacambre. Dec, 1851. Translated by Lucas Blasty on Milk The Funk Facebook group.]</ref>. Contemporary usage also includes using a coolship as an open fermentor for the production of non-sour beer. For example, [https://www.anchorbrewing.com/blog/brewing-insights-open-fermentation/ Anchor Brewing Co] ferments beer openly, but because the wort is pre-chilled before entering the vessel, Anchor Brewing no longer refers to these as "coolships" but as "open fermenters" <ref>[https://www.anchorbrewing.com/blog/anchor-terminology-coolship/ "Anchor Terminology: Coolship". Anchor Steam website. 04/12/2012. Retrieved 09/10/2018.]</ref>. This article will focus on the use of a coolship to initiate spontaneous fermentation and will not significantly address the use of coolships to partially cool wort as in the historically German/saison methods of brewing or to conduct open fermentation.