Funny, I've never heard someone take a jab at the strength of American beer. I'm curious what is the ABV of a normal beer you're used to in the UK? The 'commercial grade' American domestics tend to be about 5% maybe 4.5%. In the last decade though, 'craft'/ micro breweries have exploded so it's very easy to find stronger at any bar. In almost any convenience/ grocery store, there are plenty of 7%-9% IPAs and the like. I'll admit I like strong beer :) A lot of bars around my area will have some exotic options of 10% or more. I had one recently that was 13%! That's as much as a glass of wine. That being said, the large majority of folks are drinking beer that's 4-5%.

As far as alcohol addicts go, I learned from a friend who had to take some court ordered 'rehab' classes, that (at least in the USA) something like 90% of all alcohol is consumed by only 10% of the drinking population. That means the dirty little secret they don't want you to know is basically the entire alcohol industry is propped up by addicts.

Edit: I just clicked the WaPo story you guys were talking about, and that lines up with what I heard previously. Most people drink very moderately, but the top 10% are the cash cows for the industry.