Dang it, you brought back good memories of when I got my 020.Yep, anything that looked like it could be smoked was going in that CS and MOST stuff came out better than I could eat at a BBQ shack.After reading this good forum and asking some newbie questions,heck NOW everything comes out better and no eating BBQ out.
On that brisket, could be a few things that cause it a little dry. Could be the meat, better the meat better the finished product...ie. upper choice works good.
What I might work on is not cooking to temp, just use it as a means to get to the poke and prod test. That seems to work BEST on brisket.
I actually will try to find a decent whole packer to smoke, just like the flavor a little better, but that could be just me.
CONGRATS on the new smoker and just try to wear it out, betcha it won't be an easy task to wear out.