Don't be discouraged! When you fall off a horse, you've got to get up and keep riding. Brisket is a muse that defeats, and excites us all! I have come to the realization that every cow is different when it comes to brisket. You just don't know until you've cooked it properly (+1 on feel, not temp). My belief is that you can buy 2 briskets from the same place, same brand, same grade, cook them the same exact way, and 1 will be much better than the other - or maybe the same :crazy:. That's the beauty of Competition BBQ. 1 part skill, 1 part good luck from the BBQ Gods. Once you've nailed brisket, you'll realize that sometimes, the brisket, though you bought the "best" just didn't have it in it's soul to be a performer - cows are like people, some are bad athletes, some are decent athletes, some are good athletes, some are great athletes, and some are amazing - top 1% athletes. When you go to your meat supplier, you don't know which cow you're getting......
Having said that........The top BBQ Teams in the U.S. can take any brisket and make it Competition worthy just about every time, regardless of the earlier conditions. THAT is where the 50% skill is HUGE! Here in Southern California, we have "Left Coast Q" that continually wins GC's, and seems to be untouchable! They are that top 1%. However on their last cook, the brisket muse failed them miserably, and cost them what was sure to be a G.C. My assumption is that they nailed their routine, however the cow was just a C+ player.
So, in summation:
Brisket is a worthy, and mysterious Muse. BBQ wouldn't be where it is today if she wasn't. Don't give up on her, because eventually you will see her in all of her glory, and you will continually seek that same mountain top experience......again, and again, and again......