hahaha! Don't get me wrong, I love my hops.
As you know, the history behind an IPA is highly hopped, higher alcohol for the long boat ride. I wonder what they were really like traditionally. We all like to think they were massively hoppy beers but I'm not too sure. The modern English IPA's (at least by the time they make it to Aus) are no hoppier than most APA's. Alcohol content is quite often only in the 5-6% range compared to the 3.5-4.5% range for bitters and pale ales....
Some american IPA's however... forget balance, shovel in the hops
I doubt the original IPA was much stronger than an average ale due to tax on malt in that era, which is the same reason historically that many Scottish ales of the time were session beers as the Scot's hated paying the extra malt tax to the English. Hops and yeast were the preservatives then and now. They most likely only added enough hops to insure longevity.
And pretty tough to say some American beers forget balance when they are brewing to style created by innovation and not guidelines. Every brewery puts out a beer from time to time that needs to be tweaked.
Go to the GABF and get back to me about what you really think about US craft beer.