Are the Ash'aris, or those who affirm some attributes and metaphorically interpret others, outside the fold of Islam? And what is the reason for declaring someone who says the Quran is created an apostate?

None of the scholars has ever declared the Ash'aris as disbelievers, nor those who interpreted some of the attributes. Rather, the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah (definition) and Hadith (definition) praised them, while faulting them in what they differed from the methodology of the Salaf. The Ash'aris are not disbelievers; rather, they erred in their interpretation of some of the attributes. As for the saying about the creation of the Qur'an, scholars have considered this assertion to be among the statements of disbelief, but it does not necessarily follow from declaring it as disbelief that every person who said it is to be declared a disbeliever.