Smoked brisket - session #1.0

Continuing my series on smoking brisket (last session)...

I smoked brisket yesterday. Here are my notes:

• Cooked for ~11 hours
• @ 225F for about 6 hours, reaching internal temp of 160F
• wrapped with foil, added beef broth inside
• @ 225F for 4 hours, reaching internal temp of 195F
• @ 250F for 30 min, reaching internal temp of 200F
• set to 450F (and reached 450F after a bit), reaching internal temp of 206F
• removed
• The recipe wasn't working (getting internal temp to reach 204F) so I increased to 250F and then to 450F. 
• I liked the amount of searing.
• A friend who ate with me, who's smoked brisket previously and showed me how to do it, said that the brisket wasn't soft enough. He said it needed more time. He sometimes smokes for 15 hours.
• I did not try the idea I mentioned in last session about stabbing the meat to add garlic cloves. I avoided it this time because I wasn't sure if the stabs would change the cooking in a way I didn't like. I'll try it next time.