def check_version(self, timeout=2, strict=False, topics=[]):
        """Attempt to guess the broker version.

        Note: This is a blocking call.

        Returns: version tuple, i.e. (0, 10), (0, 9), (0, 8, 2), ...
        """
        timeout_at = time.time() + timeout
        log.info('Probing node %s broker version', self.node_id)
        # Monkeypatch some connection configurations to avoid timeouts
        override_config = {
            'request_timeout_ms': timeout * 1000,
            'max_in_flight_requests_per_connection': 5
        }
        stashed = {}
        for key in override_config:
            stashed[key] = self.config[key]
            self.config[key] = override_config[key]

        # kafka kills the connection when it doesn't recognize an API request
        # so we can send a test request and then follow immediately with a
        # vanilla MetadataRequest. If the server did not recognize the first
        # request, both will be failed with a ConnectionError that wraps
        # socket.error (32, 54, or 104)
        from kafka.protocol.admin import ApiVersionRequest, ListGroupsRequest
        from kafka.protocol.commit import OffsetFetchRequest, GroupCoordinatorRequest

        test_cases = [
            # All cases starting from 0.10 will be based on ApiVersionResponse
            ((0, 10), ApiVersionRequest[0]()),
            ((0, 9), ListGroupsRequest[0]()),
            ((0, 8, 2), GroupCoordinatorRequest[0]('kafka-python-default-group')),
            ((0, 8, 1), OffsetFetchRequest[0]('kafka-python-default-group', [])),
            ((0, 8, 0), MetadataRequest[0](topics)),
        ]

        for version, request in test_cases:
            if not self.connect_blocking(timeout_at - time.time()):
                raise Errors.NodeNotReadyError()
            f = self.send(request)
            # HACK: sleeping to wait for socket to send bytes
            time.sleep(0.1)
            # when broker receives an unrecognized request API
            # it abruptly closes our socket.
            # so we attempt to send a second request immediately
            # that we believe it will definitely recognize (metadata)
            # the attempt to write to a disconnected socket should
            # immediately fail and allow us to infer that the prior
            # request was unrecognized
            mr = self.send(MetadataRequest[0](topics))

            selector = self.config['selector']()
            selector.register(self._sock, selectors.EVENT_READ)
            while not (f.is_done and mr.is_done):
                selector.select(1)
                for response, future in self.recv():
                    future.success(response)
            selector.close()

            if f.succeeded():
                if isinstance(request, ApiVersionRequest[0]):
                    # Starting from 0.10 kafka broker we determine version
                    # by looking at ApiVersionResponse
                    api_versions = self._handle_api_version_response(f.value)
                    version = self._infer_broker_version_from_api_versions(api_versions)
                log.info('Broker version identifed as %s', '.'.join(map(str, version)))
                log.info('Set configuration api_version=%s to skip auto'
                         ' check_version requests on startup', version)
                break

            # Only enable strict checking to verify that we understand failure
            # modes. For most users, the fact that the request failed should be
            # enough to rule out a particular broker version.
            if strict:
                # If the socket flush hack did not work (which should force the
                # connection to close and fail all pending requests), then we
                # get a basic Request Timeout. This is not ideal, but we'll deal
                if isinstance(f.exception, Errors.RequestTimedOutError):
                    pass

                # 0.9 brokers do not close the socket on unrecognized api
                # requests (bug...). In this case we expect to see a correlation
                # id mismatch
                elif (isinstance(f.exception, Errors.CorrelationIdError) and
                      version == (0, 10)):
                    pass
                elif six.PY2:
                    assert isinstance(f.exception.args[0], socket.error)
                    assert f.exception.args[0].errno in (32, 54, 104)
                else:
                    assert isinstance(f.exception.args[0], ConnectionError)
            log.info("Broker is not v%s -- it did not recognize %s",
                     version, request.__class__.__name__)
        else:
            raise Errors.UnrecognizedBrokerVersion()

        for key in stashed:
            self.config[key] = stashed[key]
        return version