Beermaking at 17th-century Jamestown, NPS artist Sydney King
Breweries were usually commercially successful for the families that owned them. Beer was probably the most important beverage in New Netherland. It was safer to drink than water, and provided calories and vitamin B.
The link below shows information on brewing beer in the 17th Century at Jamestown, an English colony. The process of brewing beer was the same in New Netherland.
http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/brewing-in-the-seventeenth-century.htm
Click to see Video: New Amsterdam, Diversity and Opportunity
Dr. Charles Gehring, director of the New Netherland Project, describes the diversity and sense of opportunity that characterized New Amsterdam.
http://www.thirteen.org/dutchny/video/video-new-amsterdam-diversity-and-opportunity/94/