I notice that some of ya'll are always talking about waiting for the WSM to get up to temp. After learning that the smoke ring is entirely formed at temps < 145 degrees, I came to the logical conclusion that exposing the brisket to smoke for as long as possible at lower temps would yield better results. The most simple method I have come up with is to fill up the charcoal ring and start using the Minion method, the only difference being that some of the lit charcoal is concentrated in the center of the ring. A large piece of dry wood (I prefer pecan in a 6" to 8" long piece) is placed on top of these coals in the center. The smoker is then assembled with *cold* water in the pan and the meat put on without waiting. The vents on the bottom are left *fully* closed. It takes quite a while to get up to temp, and about seven hours before it falls back below 200 degrees and the vents have to be opened some. Smoke is visible for hours. Doesn't seem to take any longer, my 13# brisket last weekend came off @ 11 hours and I was wishing I had pulled it just a little sooner. I get a solid 1/4" to deeper smoke ring every time. Since I have been smoking at night, this method lets me get a decent amount of sleep since the WSM won't need checking for six to seven hours. I have tried several variations of this method, but it is easiest and yields the best results as described above.