"wild yeast" in this context is being used as a marketing descriptor. the saccaromyces that brewer use can be considered "domesticated" because humans have been using it for centuries and we've selectively bred it (tidbit: our saccaromyces strains used to be able to reproduce sexually, but they've now lost that ability. instead they only bud, aka asexual reproduction). therefore "wild yeast", in the context of yeast that come in a smack pack or a vial, should be interpreted as "non-saccaromyces" - brettanomyces, pedio, lacto.
from a technical standpoint, the "Wild yeast" designation doesn't mean anything. all yeasts are found in nature including sacc. therefore it is possible to ferment with a wild strain of sacc. and the yeast inside that smack pack could be considered domesticated as well, since it comes from a lab, from a controlled colony, etc.
Well said, although Lacto and Pedio are bacteria, and so aren't yeast.
What's the deal? Why call it wild when it comes in a tube or smack pack?
Just a wild yeast anecdote here. I bought a gallon of unpasteurized farm-stand apple juice this fall and put it in the fridge to store while I decided what to do with it. A couple weeks later I noticed the plastic jug starting to bulge and so I opened it to let the pressure out, and kept it cold while a lively ferment commenced. I tasted it and it is very good. I hope I've captured a wild strain that I can cultivate and continue to use.
Exact thing happened to me last year when I got unpasteurized cider for a "wild graff." Only took a day or two (in my fridge) before it was visibly fermenting. I couldn't believe it.
Well, not all yeast comes from a store/lab. The sacc strain(s) I use extensively came from juniper berries, The sour strain(s) I use came from my cellar. So that's the reason I would call it "wild", although all yeast(s)/bacterium at least started in the wild at some time, most commercial yeasts/bacterium have been altered in some way from it's original "capture", or "discovery".
I also have an "airbourne" sacc strain (or more) that will spontaneously ferment wort in my brewhouse, this may be commercial or wild, or both, I'll never know.
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