diff --git a/spec/fixtures/testevent.pb.rb b/spec/fixtures/testevent.pb.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e783023
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/fixtures/testevent.pb.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+##
+# This file is auto-generated. DO NOT EDIT!
+#
+require 'protobuf/message'
+
+module Hermann
+
+  ##
+  # Enum Classes
+  #
+  class States < ::Protobuf::Enum
+    define :FULFILLED, 1
+    define :UNFULFILLED, 2
+    define :PENDING, 3
+    define :REJECTED, 4
+  end
+
+
+  ##
+  # Message Classes
+  #
+  class TestEvent < ::Protobuf::Message; end
+
+
+  ##
+  # Message Fields
+  #
+  class TestEvent
+    required :string, :name, 1
+    required ::Hermann::States, :state, 2
+    optional :int32, :bogomips, 3
+  end
+
+end
+
diff --git a/spec/fixtures/testevent.proto b/spec/fixtures/testevent.proto
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1782d95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/fixtures/testevent.proto
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+package hermann;
+
+// Generate Ruby stubs with:  protoc --ruby_out=. spec/fixtures/testevent.proto 
+
+enum States {
+  FULFILLED = 1;
+  UNFULFILLED = 2;
+  PENDING = 3;
+  REJECTED = 4;
+}
+
+message TestEvent {
+  required string name = 1;
+  required States state = 2;
+  optional int32 bogomips = 3;
+}
diff --git a/spec/integration/producer_spec.rb b/spec/integration/producer_spec.rb
index e336095..4b927d2 100644
--- a/spec/integration/producer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/producer_spec.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ require 'hermann/consumer'
 require 'hermann/discovery/zookeeper'
 require 'concurrent'
 
+require 'protobuf'
+require_relative '../fixtures/testevent.pb'
+
 describe 'producer' do
   include_context 'integration test context'
 
@@ -15,26 +18,50 @@ describe 'producer' do
   end
   let(:consumer_promise) do
     Concurrent::Promise.execute do
-      valid = false
+      value = nil
       puts "consuming off `#{topic}`"
       consumer.consume(topic) do |dequeued|
-        puts "received the message: #{dequeued}"
-        if message == dequeued
-          consumer.shutdown
-          valid = true
-        end
+        puts "received the message: #{dequeued.inspect}"
+        value = dequeued
+        consumer.shutdown
       end
       # Return this out of the block
-      next valid
+      next value
     end
   end
-
-  it 'produces and consumes messages', :type => :integration, :platform => :java do
+  let(:brokers) do
     broker_ids = Hermann::Discovery::Zookeeper.new(zookeepers).get_brokers
     puts "using ZK discovered brokers: #{broker_ids}"
-    producer = Hermann::Producer.new(nil, broker_ids)
+    broker_ids
+  end
+  let(:producer) { Hermann::Producer.new(nil, brokers) }
+
+
+
+  it 'produces and consumes messages', :type => :integration, :platform => :java do
     producer.push(message, :topic => topic).value!(timeout)
-    expect(consumer_promise.value!(timeout)).to be true
+    expect(consumer_promise.value!(timeout)).to eql(message)
+  end
+
+
+  context 'with binary data', :type => :integration, :platform => :java do
+    let(:event) do
+      Hermann::TestEvent.new(:name => 'rspec',
+                             :state => 3,
+                            :bogomips => 9001)
+    end
+
+    let(:message) { event.encode }
+
+    it 'should be a thing' do
+      producer.push(message, :topic => topic).value!(timeout)
+      dequeued = consumer_promise.value!(timeout)
+      expect(dequeued).to eql(message)
+
+      expect {
+        Hermann::TestEvent.decode(dequeued)
+      }.not_to raise_error
+    end
   end
 
   after :each do