That depends on the drink in question and which periods you are comparing. It was common up until the early modern period to have a daytime beer at like 2-3% th

That depends on the drink in question and which periods you are comparing. It was common up until the early modern period to have a daytime beer at like 2-3% that just keeps you going throughout the day without getting actually drunk (think of folks that drink PBR instead of water at music festivals to maintain). But 5% and 12% wines would also have been available as well. Though I will say that the current trend with Double IPAs and Hazy IPAs where they all now start at 7% and go up to 10% is definitely outside of the historical norm. But it gets weirder the more you look at it, and especially once you get into the 1700s. There is a proliferation of spirits drinking in the Anglosphere starting then, split between Gin and Whiskey. Gin became a big thing in London, probably at something like 30% alcohol, but was sold in beer volumes. People were drinking pints of straight gin, to the point where it became a big public health crisis. And of course you get the importation and rise in popularity of whiskey distilling from Scotland to the American colonies as a means to use up excess wheat and corn in a shelf stable way. From the 1700s until prohibition I get the impression that public drunkenness was FAR more common in the US and (to a lesser degree) the UK than it is now.