The enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of reed canary grass, harvested in the spring or autumn, and barley straw were studied. Steam pretreated materials were efficiently hydrolysed by commercial enzymes with a dosage of 10-20 FPU/g d.m. Reed canary grass harvested in the spring was hydrolysed more efficiently than the autumn-harvested reed canary grass. Additional beta-glucosidase improved the release of glucose and xylose during the hydrolysis reaction. The hydrolysis rate and level of reed canary grass with a commercial Trichoderma reesei cellulase could be improved by supplementation of purified enzymes. The addition of CBH II improved the hydrolysis level by 10% in 48 hours' hydrolysis. Efficient mixing was shown to be important for hydrolysis already at 10% dry matter consistency. The highest ethanol concentration (20 g/l) and yield (82%) was obtained with reed canary grass at 10% d.m. consistency. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.