Higher temp cooking?

I cannot say what went wrong with your brisket 100%
It would seem you hit temp very,very quickly, perhaps flying through the stage that breaks down the connective tissue and collagen. That may be the root cause of your lack of tenderness.
I start my briskets at 275 for 2 hours and then raise to 325. This takes just about 8 hours to complete a big brisket. I did a 17 lb'r on Sunday- here
A couple of the gents on the Brethren have had good luck with this hybrid profile. Good luck to you.

I think having enough time in the stall is extremely important, so Goose may be onto something.

I usually foil when the flat hits 160 then throw it back on with a little mop added till it hits 195-200...then cooler for a few hours. We've had very good luck this way.

HogBack Mtn Comp BBQ Team said:

I have some friends on the competition circuit that cook at the hi temps, and I was across from Tuffy " Cool Smoke " in Salisbury this past year. He did not lite his pit til like 4:30 in the morning. Watching Pitmasters last week and Myron saying he cooked them at 350 degrees and they were done in 4 hours, the brisket he had was huge.

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Our brisket turn in is usually 2pm for comps...I fire the pit at 8am and still have 2 hours in the cooler before turn in... We usually do two 10 or 12 lb packers though...Myron's was a beast.

I have been playing with the two-heat method and have had pretty good success with it. One thing I noticed with my cooks, the larger the hunk-o-meat, the better the cook has gone.