## 1 Introduction  
Nowadays, the market trend of beer is progressively shifting from mass-produced larger brands to the richer flavors, aromas, and taste of craft beers due to their originality and geographical typicity [1]. In this respect, fruit beers have long captured the attention of brewers, as fruit addition results in peculiar characteristics [2]. A study by [PERSON] et al. [3] presents 9000-year-old evidence that Neolithic Chinese villagers created a beverage that contained honey, rice, and hawthorn fruits and/or grapes. Another early reference comes from Egypt where both dates and pongemastares were used in brewing [4]. For centuries till nowadays, fruits have been used as beer ingredients in Belgian cherry Lambic ('Kriek') or raspberry Lambic ('Framboise') beers. The main aspect that characterizes fruit beer quality is the variety, the quantity, and the type of addition of fruits [5]. In this respect, the use of local fruit cultivars in brew making introduces the concept of authenticated _terroir_, promoting the native identity of craft beers and setting a further split with large multinational beers [6].  
Pre-fermentation addition of fruit (as fresh fruit, concentrated juice, or puree) to cold wort maximizes the flavor and aromatic potential while reducing the risk of contamination after bottling, due to the complete consumption of fruit sugars during the primary/secondary fermentation. However, the addition of the potential microbial contaminants in the fruit microbiome to a rich substrate (unfermented wort) may lead to undesired fermentations. Thus, the identification of the native microbiota of fruits to be added to wort is mandatory to successfully manage the production of fruit beers. On the one hand, the presence of potential spoiling/pathogenic microorganisms could affect the overall quality of the beer [7]. Thus, fruits are usually added after physio-chemical treatments suited to reduce their microbial load [2]. On the other hand, microbial epitopes isolated from above-ground plant tissues showed high biotechnological potential and could represent a source of new strains for beer production [8; 9; 10]. Particularly, the levels of esters and alcohols in beer can be increased by the metabolisms of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts [11; 12; 13]. Indeed, non-_Saccharomyces_ yeasts produce diverse flavor profiles in alcoholic beverages [12; 14]. Non-_Saccharomyces_ yeasts are also used to produce low-alcohol beers in which the fermentation is limited by the low fermentative capacity of these microorganisms [13]. In addition, microbial fermentation is a well-known method to increase the stability of perishable food products. Particularly, LAB fermentation reduces the pH, thus preventing the spoilage of fermented products [15]. Some LABs produce antimicrobial metabolites, such as bacteriocin or bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances, which can enhance the microbial robustness of wort and beer [16].  
In this context, the present study provides insight into the taxonomic diversity of the cultivable microorganisms on ripe fruits of the _Bisuccia_ Sardinian apricot cultivar, with a particular emphasis on the identification of yeast isolates that could be used as starters to produce fruit beers. Indeed, although several starters for beer production have already been identified, the selection of new strains with valuable biotechnological properties remains a topic of interest [17; 18; 19].