I don't go to pub often but with my limited experience I can say that this is not the case. I know for sure that during big events there is a limit on how strong alcohol can be sold. Andy would you care to shed some light on this?
Since I moved to England I developed great taste for whisky and all sorts of ales. Recently our local supermarket started to sell local produce and from time to time they have beers from local small breweries.
I dont drink mainstream beer I have not tried pilsener or lager hmmm10 years. Close to mainstem are hefe weizen, dunkel weizen, bock, doppelbock , wiezen bock