I think no matter how well known the author, I would still wait a while. Everybody can make mistakes. Probably this scrypt thing has been tested to death by the community already, but the article doesn't give any references to such things, so how would I know?
IMO you're absolutely correct. It's generally frowned upon to select esoteric crypto algorithms of any type if another more widely tested one is available.
I have confidence in the author and high hopes for the algorithm but I believe it prudent to wait for the ink to dry before putting it anywhere it would matter. :)
