Wrong. Cider is unfiltered apple juice. It's cheaper than juice because filtering and pasteurization are skipped. Just add some yeast for alcohol. Of course you could make prison-style cider without the yeast but I am not knowledgeable about that.

Fermented apples means rotten apples. They are usually left where they fall (they don't rot on the tree). Various animals will eat them and get intoxicated including deer.

source - I am from upstate NY where there are many apple orchards.