Novel additives that act as substratum for attachment of the yeast cells, increased ethanol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The addition of 2 g rice husk, straw, wood shavings, plastic pieces or silica gel to 100 ml medium enhanced ethanol production by 30-40% (v/v). Six distillery strains showed an average enhancement of 34% from 4.1 % (v/v) in control to 5.5% (v/v) on addition of rice husk. The cell wall bound glycogen increased by 40-50 mg g(-1) dry yeast while intracellular glycogen decreased by 10-12 mg g(-1) dry yeast in cells grown in presence of substratum.